ARLINGTON- Shaquem Griffin was finally selected. The Seattle Seahawks picked Griffin with the 141st overall pick and will join his brother Shaquill Griffin. There couldn’t be a better story and landing spot for Griffin. A lot of teams passed him in the draft but it led to the Seahawks reuniting him with his brother.
Griffin will bring back some much-needed intensity in Seattle. The Seahawks lost Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett. This is a huge win for the Griffin brothers, the Seahawks and the city of Seattle. Griffin overcame a lot be a very effective linebacker at UCF. He showed a lot of speed and strength. He’s an excellent pass rusher and can drop back into coverage to press receivers. He ran a 4.48 seconds 40 yard dash and compelted 20 reps in the bench press while using a prosthetic hand.
Speed, strength and passion are the three qualities that Griffin brings to the Seahawks. He obviously has that blue-collar, underdog mentality that general managers and scouts love to see. Anyone who overcomes a condituin such as Amniotic Band Syndrome shows serious grit and determination. It isn’t just about Griffin’s skills, he brings a great mentality and much-needed culture to the Seahawk’s locker room.
It will be a lot of fun for Seahawks fans to see how Griffin performs against top quality quarterbacks such as Jared Goff and Jimmy Garrapolo. This will be a great measuring stick for Griffin and he needs to take full advantage of it. Griffin recorded 74 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, one interception that he returned for 22 yards and two forced fumbles in 2017. Those are mind-blowing stats and something that the Seahawks will benefit from. His career numbers at UCF are 122 solo tackles, 195 total tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, three interceptions and four forced fumbles. He is a big hitter as well.