Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald called Devon Witherspoon a force multiplier for the defense on his weekly Monday radio appearance. 

Here’s a clip of him saying it on Brock & Salk yesterday:

Macdonald used the same terminology to describe wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s effect on the offense in a postgame press conference in October. Kupp is well-documented as more than just a receiver, arriving early in the morning to watch film in the quarterback meetings (here’s a video of him doing exactly that during his Los Angeles Rams days). It’s no coincidence that Puka Nacua blossomed alongside him in L.A., and Jaxon Smith-Njigba unlocked a new gear under his guidance as soon as he came to Seattle. So how did Witherspoon earn the same description in just his third NFL Season as a relatively young player himself?

Macdonald highlighted Witherspoon’s “competitive energy” as a firestarter for the team. He sets the tone with high-energy plays within the structure of the game plan. I raved about his well-roundedness in Sunday’s postgame Studs & Duds column, which isn’t just versatility- but the ability to have energy and focus. Playing fast and sound. Those goals working in tandem with one another are worth much more than the sum of their parts, not just for the player- but leading by example for the rest of the defense as well.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald praises CB Devon Witherspoon