Throughout Devon Witherspoon's second season with the Seahawks, his coaches and teammates have raved about his play, even if his numbers didn't always reflect it.

And it turns out, the players, coaches and fans who vote on the Pro Bowl agreed with that assessment, because for the second straight season, Witherspoon has been selected to the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando.

Witherspoon was Seattle's only Pro Bowl selection, though five other players were named alternates: defensive lineman Leonard Williams, punter Michael Dickson, safety Julian Love, outside linebacker Boye Mafe and receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

The fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft, Witherspoon had a big rookie season, finishing fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting and earning Pro Bowl honors after recording 79 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 16 passes defensed and a 97-yard pick-six that helped him earn Defensive Player of the Week as well as Defensive Rookie of the Month honors.

Witherspoon's second season hasn't been quite as impressive statistically—he has 90 tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack, seven passes defensed and no interceptions—but he has played at an incredibly high level throughout the season.

"This guy is the leader on our—it's his second year and he's grown so much as a leader and someone we're going to depend on for a long time here," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said after Witherspoon had three tackles for loss and a sack in last week’s win over the Bears. "We love him, and it's because of the energy and the competitiveness and the person and his love of the game and love for his teammates. It's infectious. How can you not play 1,000 percent when 21 is on the field doing the stuff that he does? We talk about force multipliers. He's a force multiplier."

Witherspoon has made his presence felt this season not just in the plays he makes or in the pass attempts that never happen because of his coverage, but also with the effort he gives on every play, whether making a hit or charging down the field to block for a teammate on an interception or fumble return, something he did on multiple defensive touchdowns this season.

"He plays with his hair on fire," Macdonald said. "You talk about shocking effort, and if you want to shock people, watch 21 play. We talk about ball finding energy, and it kind of all comes together with Spoon. People want production and they want to be certain type of players, but if you don't do it every day, I don't see how you could have a reasonable expectation to be a great player. This guy brings it every single day, and does it every rep, and that's why he's a great player."

Said defensive coordinator Aden Durde, "Those kind of selfless acts, they build the defense and they build the identity."

Witherspoon becomes the fifth player in team history to start his career with two straight Pro Bowl selections, joining Fredd Young, Rufus Porter, Lofa Tatupu and Russell Wilson.

Alternates

Among Seattle's alternates, Williams stands out as a player who seemed most likely to earn a Pro Bowl selection. The 10^th-year veteran leads the team with 9.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 26 quarterback hits, and also had a 92-yard pick-six to help spark a comeback win over the Jets. Williams' sack and tackle for loss totals are tied for the most in the NFL among players who line up primarily as interior linemen.

"He's a dog, man," Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. "To be as big as he is and do the things that he does is insane to me. The way he can play the run, get off, rush the passer, hold up two, three blocks at a time, it makes my life so much easier playing behind him, (Byron Murphy II), (Jarran) Reed, (Johnathan Hankins). Leo is a dog, man. He's been doing it for a while and finally people are starting to recognize and see how really good he is."

Dickson, who was a first-team All-Pro and Pro-Bowl selection as a rookie, is having another outstanding season, including a net average of 43.1 yards per punt that ranks second among NFC punters, and he ranks third in the NFC with 30 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

Smith-Njigba currently ranks fifth among NFC pass catchers with 1,121 receiving yards and he heads into Week 18 four catches short of Tyler Lockett's single season receptions record of 100.

Love, who made his first Pro Bowl last year, has 100 tackles through 16 games to lead the team, his third straight 100-tackle season, as well as two interceptions, three tackles for loss, nine passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Mafe, who was also an alternate last year, has 6.0 sacks, 30 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, three passes defense and a forced fumble.