Entering Contract Year, It's All About the Ball for Seahawks CB Shaquill Griffin
RENTON, WA - What a difference a year makes. At least in the case of Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin, that is.
When Griffin reported for training camp last July, he arrived facing mounting pressure heading into his third NFL season. After all, the former third-round pick admittedly struggled throughout his first full year as a starter in 2018, allowing five touchdown passes in coverage and an opposing quarterback rating north of 100.
"I was getting too concerned with stats and where I was going to be or what I wanted to accomplish instead of being more focused on how to help this team win, how to get to the playoffs, how to get to the Super Bowl, how to just win, be selfless," Griffin reflected.
With a renewed sense of focus, Griffin and his twin brother Shaquem hired a nutritionist, allowing him to trim back down to his rookie playing weight at 194 pounds. He also prioritized studying film, reflecting on his own tape along with watching the esteemed "Legion of Boom" at work during Seattle's 2013 Super Bowl season.
The overhauled offseason plan wound up paying major dividends for Griffin, who enjoyed a breakout third season for the Seahawks. Shining in the left cornerback role, he produced 65 tackles and 13 passes defensed in 14 games. Opposing quarterbacks completed nearly 10 percent less of their targets against him and he surrendered over 200 yards less to receivers overall, eventually earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl.
Now entering the final year of his contract, Griffin remains humble due to his upbringing. But coming off the best season of his career, he understandably exudes confidence and a quiet swagger that wasn't near as visible a year ago.
"I feel like that's the mindset that changed," Griffin said, adding. "Going into this year, I just kept that same mindset, focused on my weaknesses going into this year so I can find any way to help this team win because I feel we have everything that we could possibly want on the team to get where we want to be at and that's that Super Bowl and bringing it back home."
With potentially millions of dollars on the line this season as free agency quickly approaches, Griffin isn't sweating his current contract situation. Instead, he's remained laser-focused on improving upon a couple specific areas of his game to help his team win.
Most specifically, to truly be viewed as an elite shutdown corner, Griffin knows he must get his hands on the football more often. Through three NFL seasons, while he's shown a knack for swatting away passes, interceptions have eluded him. He's put himself into a position to make plays, but hasn't been able to consistently finish.
Taking away a two-pick effort against the Bears in 2018, Griffin has recorded just one interception in his 44 other games played. He understands that simply isn't good enough.
"I feel like last year I got my hands on a lot of balls where I was able to just punch it out, but now, I want to get to the point where those same passes I'm breaking up, I'm catching 'em. I'm not dropping 'em. Just making the most out of my opportunity, so when the ball comes to me, I need to catch it."
As Griffin noted, while he didn't register a single pick in 2019, he came close on numerous occasions. One interception was called back against the 49ers due to a holding penalty on teammate Jamar Taylor, while he had several others in his grasp that he wasn't able to reel in for interceptions.
Over the past few months, Griffin spent a ton of time sharpening his hand-eye coordination skills, catching a bunch of passes during his offseason workouts. Much as he shored up his tackling a year ago, he's banking on the extra practice showing up on the field, allowing him to create turnovers in bunches and get the ball back into Russell Wilson's hands.
Recording close to 15 passes defensed a year ago looked good on the stat sheet and eventually got him to the Pro Bowl, but at the end of the day, Griffin knows top corners are evaluated - fair or not - based on their ability to intercept passes. To take his game to another level, the "almost" opportunities of the past three years have to be converted upon for picks moving forward.
"The main thing I got to focus on when the ball is in the air and I have a chance to catch it? Make the play. I need to make the play. No more dropping the ball... the ones I can make, I have to make. So going into this camp, if I see the ball in the air, I'm going to try to catch it every single time. I gotta be more consistent with that."
If he does that, Griffin knows he will give the Seahawks a better chance to win games, especially with the improved supporting cast around him in the secondary. And the business side of things will work itself out in time, hopefully with him continuing his career in Seattle beyond 2020.
