Witherspoon - Colorado CB

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Am I the only one that's keeping a close eye on this guy? I thought he was amazing in coverage last season... and he has the size our defense covets.
 

Hawk Finn

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Doesn't he suck in run support? Is that a deal breaker?
 
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Hawk Finn":1exbnahs said:
Doesn't he suck in run support? Is that a deal breaker?

I've read that... I'm just drawn to him for some reason. Gives me Sherman vibes.
 

Coug_Hawk08

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Hawk Finn":7a3niwlr said:
Doesn't he suck in run support? Is that a deal breaker?

One of the main knocks I have read is he is not a willing or sure tackler. Several videos out there of him literally avoiding tackles altogether.
 

DJrmb

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Hawk Finn":fg6xub6y said:
Doesn't he suck in run support? Is that a deal breaker?
No worse than Kevin King in that area... However with both of those guys it's not their "want to" it's just their technique and need for a little more strength so that can be coached up in my opinion. Sherman was the same coming out of college, but now he's one of the better corners coming up to defend the run.

Witherspoon is a guy that's really high on my personal list for the Seahawks. I had him right up there with King. I think he will have more success in the NFL than any of the other Colorado DB's in this years draft, and that's not a knock on any of them. Colorado was right up there with Washington as one of the best DB groups in the Pac 12 IMO.
 

Seafan

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DJrmb":9bglkegu said:
Hawk Finn":9bglkegu said:
Doesn't he suck in run support? Is that a deal breaker?
No worse than Kevin King in that area... However with both of those guys it's not their "want to" it's just their technique and need for a little more strength so that can be coached up in my opinion. Sherman was the same coming out of college, but now he's one of the better corners coming up to defend the run.

Witherspoon is a guy that's really high on my personal list for the Seahawks. I had him right up there with King. I think he will have more success in the NFL than any of the other Colorado DB's in this years draft, and that's not a knock on any of them. Colorado was right up there with Washington as one of the best DB groups in the Pac 12 IMO.

Witherspoon avoids contact. It has nothing to do with technique.
 

Hawks46

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DJrmb":1gruvru1 said:
Hawk Finn":1gruvru1 said:
Doesn't he suck in run support? Is that a deal breaker?
No worse than Kevin King in that area... However with both of those guys it's not their "want to" it's just their technique and need for a little more strength so that can be coached up in my opinion. Sherman was the same coming out of college, but now he's one of the better corners coming up to defend the run.

Witherspoon is a guy that's really high on my personal list for the Seahawks. I had him right up there with King. I think he will have more success in the NFL than any of the other Colorado DB's in this years draft, and that's not a knock on any of them. Colorado was right up there with Washington as one of the best DB groups in the Pac 12 IMO.

Totally disagree with this.

Kevin King plays like a skinnier Browner in run support. He's not as fierce at the los, but he wasn't asked to be but he regularly blew up screens to his side.

Witherspoon actively avoids contact. He doesn't whiff, he shies away from tackling and avoids blockers. You don't even have to put pads on this guy, just show you're going to block him and he'll stop.

He won't survive practices on this team, much less the physicality of the NFL. Scouts were actually questioning his desire to play football after watching his tape.

I'll pass
 

jammerhawk

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I'm interested in him too for his coveragebut he seems to be shy at tackling and frequently makes business decisions to avoid contact in run support.
 

DJrmb

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Hawks46":1vvd0jfg said:
DJrmb":1vvd0jfg said:
Hawk Finn":1vvd0jfg said:
Doesn't he suck in run support? Is that a deal breaker?
No worse than Kevin King in that area... However with both of those guys it's not their "want to" it's just their technique and need for a little more strength so that can be coached up in my opinion. Sherman was the same coming out of college, but now he's one of the better corners coming up to defend the run.

Witherspoon is a guy that's really high on my personal list for the Seahawks. I had him right up there with King. I think he will have more success in the NFL than any of the other Colorado DB's in this years draft, and that's not a knock on any of them. Colorado was right up there with Washington as one of the best DB groups in the Pac 12 IMO.

Totally disagree with this.

Kevin King plays like a skinnier Browner in run support. He's not as fierce at the los, but he wasn't asked to be but he regularly blew up screens to his side.

Witherspoon actively avoids contact. He doesn't whiff, he shies away from tackling and avoids blockers. You don't even have to put pads on this guy, just show you're going to block him and he'll stop.

He won't survive practices on this team, much less the physicality of the NFL. Scouts were actually questioning his desire to play football after watching his tape.

I'll pass
We'll just have to agree to disagree then because I didn't find a single instance of Witherspoon avoiding tackles. I saw him suck at getting off blocks and take terrible angles causing him to whiff on some tackles but I didn't see any "business decisions". Maybe I just missed them but I've gone through multiple games where I've looked at every play and haven't seen it once.

I would agree with this assessment though that he's overly careful when tackling:
Tackling is not something Witherspoon knows how to do very well. He didn’t show a lack of effort necessarily, but he certainly came off as cautious when matched up one on one with a ball carrier. Despite his good agility testing, he can be beat by quick, savvy route runners.

Here is a good example of his willingness to tackle. The nature of the broadcast makes it hard to see him throughout the play, but at the end you can see him come in at full speed to make the tackle and keep the opponent out of the end zone.
Giphy
http://www.patspulpit.com/2017/3/10...back-ahkello-witherspoon-new-england-patriots

The reason he's overly careful, in my opinion, is because he takes bad angles and doesn't trust his athleticism/agility to stay with guys and is scared of whiffing completely. If that's the case that is coach-able. The draft will tell us though because Seattle will not draft him if they think he avoids tackles and shies away from physical play.
 
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