Seahawks CB Shaquill Griffin Continues Ascent to Stardom
Battling inconsistency issues following the departure of the “Legion of Boom,” the Seahawks have given up the third-most passing yards in the NFL and already surrendered 29 passes netting 20 or more yards this season.
But don’t blame these struggles defending the pass on third-year cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who continues to build a strong case for his first Pro Bowl selection and potential All-Pro recognition.
Rebounding from a tough 2018 campaign he himself viewed as a failure, Griffin has played the best football of his career through the first half of the season for Seattle. Displaying improved technique and playing with a bit of a strut in his step, he’s already produced nine pass deflections, exceeding his total from a year ago.
Watching the young defender’s confidence rising by the week, linebacker Bobby Wagner believes Griffin has a chance to be a very special player in Seattle’s retooled secondary.
“Confidence man, you see the confidence.” Wagner commented. “It’s like his swagger, every time he bats the ball down you see that swagger after every single play. It’s amazing to watch. You can just see after every game, he’s growing, every game he’s stepping up to the challenge, he wants to take the top guys. It’s special.
It's been quite the reversal of fortunes for Griffin, who slogged through a difficult first season replacing Richard Sherman as the starting left cornerback. Though he intercepted two passes, he surrendered 780 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, allowing opposing quarterbacks to post a 100.4 passer rating when targeting him.
Regressing from a promising rookie campaign, Pro Football Focus handed him a dreadful 50.7 grade, ranking him 111 out of 112 qualified cornerbacks.
But fast forward one year later and Griffin looks like a completely different player, as illustrated by his top-notch performance against Julio Jones and the Falcons in a 27-20 win last Sunday.
While 38-year-old journeyman quarterback Matt Schaub threw for a startling 460 yards against Seattle’s defense, he rarely found success against Griffin and avoided him like the plague in the second half. Aside from giving up 25- and 11-yard completions to Jones, he was near-perfect, getting his hand on the football to break up two other pass attempts to Calvin Ridley and Justin Hardy.
Griffin also drew an offensive pass interference penalty against Jones and showed off his improved chops as a tackler, bringing down running back Devonta Freeman in the backfield for a one-yard loss.
“He just continues to be really productive.” coach Pete Carroll said on Monday. “Technique wise, he’s really on it. His confidence is as high as it’s been, I think at any time in the last couple years. He’s ready for the tough matchups and looking forward to it and all that.”
To this point, it hasn’t mattered who Griffin lined up across from, as he’s on pace to yield less than 400 receiving yards. According to Pro Football Reference, opposing quarterbacks have completed 52.9 percent of targets and posted a 77.1 passer rating against him, a drastic improvement from a year ago.
Pro Football Focus further verified his excellence this season, as his 10 forced incompletions rank second among NFL cornerbacks and he has also produced a pass defensed on 25.7 percent of targets, the best rate in the league for qualified players.
No longer pressing trying to become the second coming of Sherman and creating a name for himself with his stellar play, Wagner sees a maturing third-year player poised to become a star in this league.
“Sherm didn’t just come into the league and he was Sherm. It took some years, and it took some learning, and figuring out what he wanted to look like, and what he wanted to be like as far as that position. I think it’s the same thing with Shaq. He just really took the time to study and figure out what style of play does he want to have, and how do I master my version of special.”
By all accounts, Griffin’s soul searching this past offseason unlocked his immense potential and as he enters the prime of his career, it looks like the Seahawks have found themselves another shutdown cornerback to build around.
