2025 Seahawks Most Valuable Player Rankings: #8

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be listing out my rankings for most valuable Seattle Seahawk player for the 2025 season, starting at #12 and counting down to #1.

A Challenging Start

Devon Witherspoon had already established himself as a stud for the Seattle Seahawks in his first two seasons. He made the pro bowl in each of those years, despite playing for a team that had an unremarkable defense and missed the playoffs in both campaigns. 2025 was a premium opportunity for him to lay his claim as one of the best cornerbacks in football.

Except…things got off to a brutal start for the man they’ve come to call Spoon. He made it through the opener, a tough home loss to the rival 49ers, but emerged from that contest with a knee injury and missed the next two games. He returned for week four against the Cardinals, but allowed two fourth quarter touchdowns and re-aggravated his injury.

Spoon was there for the Seahawks when the games mattered most. — Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) in his pre-snap stance against the San Francisco 49ers. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

It was about as bad of a start to the season as you could have. Devon didn’t make his way back to the field until week nine. The team held together in his absence, having one of the best records and one of the best defenses in the league, but it wasn’t quite the same without Spoon on the field. His unique skillset is an important part of what the Seattle defense was about.

A Special Talent

The 2025 Seattle Seahawks were defined by many things, but the main thing I’m going to remember is their contradictory ability to defend the run at an elite, league-best level while living in nickel. That’s not something that should be possible. In many ways, playing nickel is what a defense does to stop the pass at the knowing expense of the run defense.

There are many reasons why the Seahawks were able to do that. I’ll acknowledge that Devon Witherspoon wasn’t at the top of that list of reasons, especially not in a season where he only played twelve regular season games. But his remarkable tackling and run defense abilities from the corner position are a part of it, and when he did play, he showed it.

Spoon doesn't cause a lot of turnovers, but he's incredibly important to this defense. — Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) celebrates after a fumble recovery against the Atlanta Falcons. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

He’s a cog in the machine that allows the Seahawks to do this, but a very significant cog. Corners that can tackle, especially when a significant portion of the snaps go to a player like Riq Woolen who struggles in that category. He also played more of his snaps at outside corner than slot corner for the first time in his career, and had no issues with it.

Getting In Gear

Witherspoon did not allow another touchdown in coverage after returning from injury. He also only allowed 40 or more yards in three of the thirteen games he played in after that point, the Vikings game and both of the final two games against the Rams. It was a fantastic run of football, which earned him his first ever all-pro nod on the second team.

Even his low moments had highs. Despite allowing over 136 yards against the Rams in the NFC Championship game, it was Spoon that ultimately broke up back-to-back passes in the endzone that preserved the lead late in the fourth quarter and ultimately won the game. And his super bowl performance was broaching MVP caliber, with a sack and a hit that caused a pick.

Spoon almost played well enough to win Super Bowl MVP. — Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori (3) and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) react after a play. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Bottom Line

Devon Witherspoon is a unique part of this defense, with tremendous coverage skills combined with ferocious abilities as a tackler against the run and blitzing. Even though he missed five games, his impact on the team is undeniable, and he delivered in the biggest games in the biggest moments in the postseason. His value to the champions is massive.

I can’t put him higher than this, knowing that he missed as many games as he did, and also acknowledging some of his bad moments. But there is value here beyond his box score. In the coming months, Witherspoon will likely set the market for his position, and his play in 2025 has certainly warranted it.

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