(Photo: Getty)

Devon Witherspoon enters his third season considered one of the top-10 cornerbacks in the NFL, according to an ESPN poll of coaches, executives and scouts, and the No. 5 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft certainly has earned that respect. Witherspoon has earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first two seasons in the league. He finished fourth in 2023  NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with 79 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 16 pass breakups, one interception and one forced fumble. Last season, Witherspoon had 98 tackles, 6.0 TFLs, 1.0 sack and one forced fumble. His 90.0 PFF run defense grade led all NFL cornerbacks with at least 280 snaps last season.

At Illinois, Witherspoon in 2022 became the 21st player in Illinois program history to be named a Consensus All-American, was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back and was the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year. Witherspoon played in 42 games with 32 starts during his four-year career while recording 159 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, five interceptions, 30 passes defended, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

Witherspoon was just the fourth Illini of the Common Draft Era (since 1967) to be selected in the top-10, joining Kevin Hardy (No. 2 in 1996), Simeon Rice (No. 3 in 1996) and Jeff George (No. 1 in 1990).