Second-year Seattle Seahawks cornerback, Shaquill Giffin, will be tasked with replacing Richard Sherman.
In the 2017 Draft, the Seattle Seahawks drafted Shaquill Griffin in the third round. Griffin spent four years at the University of Central Florida. Despite Griffin being a top recruit coming out of high school, he chose UCF over his dream school, Miami (FL), to play alongside his brother, Shaquem Griffin.
While Shaquil may have not gotten the national attention that his brother got, he was a great player in his own right. Playing for a small school like UCF, Griffin would have to do more to prove himself to the NFL.
While he played sparingly in his first two years in college, Griffin earned a full time gig in his junior year and rewarded the team with 43 tackles and one interception. He came back for his senior year and played in 13 games accumulating 49 tackles and four interceptions.
Griffin really took his game to the next level under head coach Scott Frost, and it vaulted him into the draft conversation. After an impressive draft combine, posting a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, the Seahawks felt he deserved to be picked with their 90th overall pick.
Going into his rookie season, Griffin was battling for the backup cornerback roles behind Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane. He entered the season as the No. 4 corner on the team, but was able to make an immediate impact due to the faltering Lane.
Griffin recorded 10 tackles and one pass deflection after coming in for Lane, who was ejected for throwing a punch at Davante Adams. Griffin continued to play due to Sherman and Lane’s injury woes, and he made the most of his opportunities.
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After getting a chance to be a starter for 11 games, Griffin will be asked to be the No. 1 corner in 2018, after the departure of Sherman. Those are certainly big shoes to fill, and we’ll see quickly if he’s up to the task.