Lions coach Dan Campbell admitted the Lions had strong interest in Devon Witherspoon, but said he preferred their draft haul after trading down.
It was one of the worst-kept secrets from the 2023 NFL Draft, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell admitted on Saturday that they were very interested in cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who went fifth overall just before the Detroit Lions’ sixth pick in the draft. Witherspoon ended up going to the Lions’ Week 4 opponent, the Seattle Seahawks.
“Yeah, we really liked him a lot,” Campbell said. “I would say what you see on tape is exactly what we thought he would be. He is a competitive, feisty, tough football-playing dude. He plays corner, he plays the nickel, active player, ball guy.”
Witherspoon started his Seahawks career at the nickel position, but now he plays on the outside in base defense and slides inside when Seattle plays nickel. Last year, he was all over the field, posting 79 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, 16 passes defended, and an interception. This year, he’s off to another strong start with 17 tackles, one pass defended, and a 70.8 PFF grade, good for 27th among all NFL corners.
The Lions may have missed on Witherspoon, but their pivot in plans turned out to be pretty darn solid. They ended up trading back from Pick 7 to 12 and selecting running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta with the picks in return. Campbell said he’s perfectly happy with the return they got over just selecting Witherspoon.
“I would take (Brian) Branch, LaPorta, and Gibbs for that,” Campbell said. “Whatever that combination (of picks) was, had it been him (Witherspoon), you’re losing out on one of those players. You don’t get the combination of three.”
Note: Campbell likely didn’t mention Jack Campbell because that pick was made with Detroit’s original 18th overall pick, while Gibbs, LaPorta, and Branch were all the result of draft-day trades.
