The most intriguing story of this year’s NFL draft ended in tears of joy as Shaquem Griffin, whose hand was amputated when he was a child, joined his twin brother Shaquill at the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks drafted Griffin in the fifth-round with the 141st-overall pick. Shaquill joined the Seahawks last season and became a starter as a rookie.
“I couldn’t breathe,” Griffin told ESPN as he described the moment the Seahawks called to say they wanted him. “I didn’t know what to say. I was trying to get the words out, but I couldn’t talk.” Both he and his brother were in tears afterwards.
Griffin’s hand was amputated due to a pre-natal condition. He nevertheless grew up to star for his high school in track, football and baseball before winning an athletics scholarship to the University of Central Florida alongside Shaquill.
Some believed UCF had offered Shaquem a place just to curry favor with Shaquill. If that was true the coaching staff were soon pleasantly surprised: the linebacker was named American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year in 2016.
Shaquem drew attention at this year’s scouting combine when he bench-pressed 225lb 20 times, using a prosthetic hand, he followed that up by recording a time of 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash, the fastest ever by a linebacker – 4.65 is considered outstanding – and the exact same time as his brother managed last year.
