5 bold predictions for the Seattle Seahawks 2023 season

Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon will play 8 games

I realize Witherspoon is back to practicing. Who knows? Maybe he even plays in Week 1. Holding him out after he missed most of August with a hamstring injury makes a lot more sense, though. This is especially true as Seattle's Week 1 opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, won't have their best receiver, Cooper Kupp, and Kupp just happens to be one of the best slot receivers ever.

Does Witherspoon simply play in Week 1 to get more reps? That doesn't make much sense either. Unless he is ready to be long-term healthy, don't rush him back. But Witherspoon has already dealt with a couple of injuries since Seattle drafted him in the 2023 NFL draft fifth overall. Most recently his hamstring has been an issue and for a player that has to turn and sprint, a hamstring injury is not one that goes away quickly.

I am guessing that Witherspoon's hamstring injury pops up from time to time over the course of the season and requires a couple of stretches where he misses multiple games. This, of course, is just me being pessimistic and still having a bit of PTSD from what happened with Rashaad Penny and LJ Collier. Witherspoon will probably be productive and healthy. I hope.

So let me end this part of the article by going against the header for this slide. This way I am not jinxing Witherspoon no matter what I predict. So let's go with he plays 16 games, has 7 interceptions, and wins the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.