Seahawks Rookie CB Devon Witherspoon vs. Mike Jackson - Vet Ready for 'Fantastic' Fight
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RENTON, Wash. - When the Seattle Seahawks opted to bypass drafting Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter and instead chose Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon with the fifth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, the franchise promptly put veteran cornerback Mike Jackson on notice.
After all, though coach Pete Carroll's philosophy has always been built around competition and Witherspoon would have to earn a starting job like everyone else, the idea Seattle would invest a rare top-five pick at the cornerback position and not immediately thrust the player into the starting lineup opposite of Pro Bowl talent Tariq Woolen seems laughable. If he can't unseat Jackson, a former fifth-round pick who previously spent time on the team's practice squad, many would already view the selection as a major whiff for the franchise.
But rather than sulk after the Seahawks drafted Witherspoon, the gritty Jackson went back to work and showed up at offseason workouts in outstanding shape. Determined as ever, Carroll has seen him elevate his game and leadership to another level this spring during OTAs, making it clear he isn't going to surrender his starting job without a fierce battle.
“Mike had a really good, solid year last year. I think he's feeling it," Carroll told reporters after Thursday's OTA session. "I think he's feeling the confidence that comes from what he accomplished last time around. He played a really solid football season, did a lot of good stuff. He comes back and he feels he's in really good shape and he feels great about it."
While Witherspoon arrives in Seattle viewed as a can't-miss prospect after earning consensus All-American honors for the Fighting Illini last season, Jackson took a far less ceremonious path to the NFL. Despite being a Second-Team All-ACC selection in 2017, he didn't hear his name called in the 2019 NFL Draft until the fifth round when the Cowboys selected him 158th overall.
Jackson ultimately didn't play a single game in Dallas, joining Detroit after being signed off the practice squad in October 2019. He played in just two games in his first two NFL seasons, seeing six total snaps on defense and special teams for the Lions and Patriots, before finding his way to the Seahawks as a practice squad signing in September 2021.
Getting a chance to impress late in the season thanks to injuries in Seattle's secondary, Jackson produced a pair of pass breakups on 25 snaps in a Week 17 home win over Detroit, including swatting away a potential touchdown in the end zone. Grabbing the attention of Carroll and his staff, he was signed to a future/reserve deal and in a surprising turn of events, he wound up beating out veteran Sidney Jones for the starting left cornerback job last August.
From there, the 6-1, 210-pound Jackson exceeded all expectations for the Seahawks, playing with the physicality and aggressiveness the team demands at cornerback as a run defender and in coverage. Starting all 17 games opposite of Woolen, he amassed 75 tackles, an interception, two fumble recoveries, and 11 pass breakups, emerging as a viable NFL starter after a bumpy road with multiple teams earlier in his career.
Still, even after Jackson's stellar season, Carroll and general manager John Schneider became enamored by Witherspoon, who blew them away during an official visit to the VMAC a few weeks before the draft. With a chance to snag a rare blue chip talent who they graded as one of the best players in the class, they happily turned his name in as the fifth overall selection, putting Jackson's job in jeopardy only weeks after signing his exclusive rights tender.
In many cases, a player put into Jackson's situation would have folded or thrown a fit considering how well he played last season. But instead of dwelling on the circumstances, he has gotten off to a fast start during OTAs, capitalizing on Woolen's absence following knee surgery and reminding the coaching staff of his presence with an interception and multiple pass breakups on Thursday.
Having witnessed Jackson grind his way from the practice squad into a full-time starting role in Seattle, Carroll expected Jackson to demonstrate such great resolve in the aftermath of the Witherspoon selection. Given his mindset and toughness overcoming adversity bouncing around with three teams before landing on his feet in the Pacific Northwest, how he has attacked the situation isn't surprising at all.
While the incoming rookie remains the favorite to start alongside Woolen in September due to his immense talent and skill, nobody should count out the resilient Jackson, who has never been intimidated by competition and won't back down aiming to keep his spot against the odds.
"The fact that we drafted a guy, that sends everybody's alert up. I think when Tariq stepped out, Mike looked like he said, ‘I’ve got to do my stuff here. I’ve got to take over a little bit here,’ and he did,” Carroll said. “He's had a fantastic offseason of work. He's just been on his game, and you can see the experience. … He seems like a seasoned veteran to us. He can feel it, and he's taking a really good leadership role out here.”
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