NFL Draft 2018: UCF’s Shaquem Griffin is 2018 class’ fastest linebacker

UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin is the 2018 NFL Draft’s fastest linebacker. Where does Griffin project in the NFL?

Shaquem Griffin was a late NFL Combine invite that showed his dominance in the 2018 Peach Bowl victory over the Auburn Tigers. Griffin stole the show with 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the Knights 34-27 victory over the Tigers. Griffin, who had his left hand amputated at four years old, has overcome the odds held against him and was named the AAC Defensive Player of The Year back in 2016.

Griffin started his UCF career as a defensive back alongside his twin brother Shaquill who is now a Seattle Seahawk. Shaquem overcame a roller coaster career at UCF that saw three head coaches, the Fiesta Bowl upset over Baylor in 2013, an 0-12 season in 2015, and the 13-0 perfect season in 2017. Griffin never wavered and when Scott Frost became head football coach for the 2016 season Frost’s staff moved him to a rush end position. He logged 33.5 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks with two interceptions as an edge rusher between the 2016-2017 seasons.

Strengths

Shaquem Griffin’s strengths are plenty. Griffin is a tireless worker that loves the weight room and plays with an endless motor, cliche or not. Griffin is 6-foot-1 and 227 pounds of solid muscle.

The UCF linebacker didn’t play much rush end at the Senior Bowl but instead was a strong side linebacker running with tight ends and playing the flat. Griffin can really contribute in the NFL, and he’s proven he has the athletic ability by posting a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, only a literal step slower than his twin brother’s 4.38. Shaquem is a linebacker, his brother is a cornerback.

Griffin also posted 20 bench press reps of 225 using a prosthetic hand. Griffin will have the versatility to blitz the quarterback, he’s fast enough to run with slot receivers, and strong enough to jam tight ends and h-backs. This will make his draft stock rise greatly, especially with great interviews. Dan Kadar described Griffin’s potential as a “special teams ace” after the Senior Bowl and that can get players drafted higher and extend their careers.

Weaknesses

The weakness for Griffin is that he played a rush end position for UCF the past two seasons, and hasn’t been involved in coverage as a starter before. He wasn’t asked to drop into coverage a lot at UCF, and the transition to learning coverage responsibilities and techniques might be arduous at first. However, with an NFL cornerback for a twin brother I’m sure he will be able to work on those skills this spring and summer to raise his draft stock even more.

His broad jump was only 117-inch which isn’t bad it’s just not eye-popping like his 40. The broad jump is used to determine hip-knee-ankle power that translates to a player’s ability to run their feet on tackles at the linebacker position.

Next: What are the NFL Combine drills?

Draft Expectations

Griffin will project for a third-round pick because of his strange “tweener” size and lack of a true position immediately in the NFL. Teams are going to have to create packages for him in the 4-2-5 to get him on the field, and opposing quarterbacks are going to find out quickly that Griffin hits hard and plays aggressively.

The 4.38 speed will be hard to ignore. A team that will be intrigued by Griffin will be the Seahawks and Pete Carroll. The Seahawks’ defense has found a way to use tweeners and raw athletes for years and Pete Carroll has to be drooling over having the Griffin twins running 4.38’s on the same field together.

Prediction: Third round by the Seattle Seahawks