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Seahawks: Will cornerback Shaquill Griffin start?

By Ben Renner

SEATTLE, WA - APRIL 21: Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks and WE Day Seattle Co-Chair, Pete Carroll, inspires 15,000 students and educators at WE Day Seattle at the KeyArena at the Seattle Center on April 21, 2017. (Photo by Suzi Pratt/Getty Images for WE)
SEATTLE, WA - APRIL 21: Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks and WE Day Seattle Co-Chair, Pete Carroll, inspires 15,000 students and educators at WE Day Seattle at the KeyArena at the Seattle Center on April 21, 2017. (Photo by Suzi Pratt/Getty Images for WE) /
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Seahawks rookie cornerback Shaquill Griffin has an opportunity to take over the right side and run with it in Training Camp this season. Will he seize it?

Seahawks rookie cornerback Shaquill Griffin out of the University of Central Florida has an ‘in’ for a starting job opposite Richard Sherman in the secondary.

With 2016 starter Deshawn Shead still recovering from his torn ACL and presumed nickel corner and next-in-line Jeremy Lane not taking the role as of yet for himself, Griffin could be the starter in Week One in Green Bay.

Offseason practices so far have shown that Griffin at least looks the part, fighting for balls and getting into good position, but even in Pete Carroll’s system that thrives on competition, the rookie will have to beat out Lane and Neiko Thorpe for the starting spot.

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Based on Lane’s uneven season in 2016 and Thorpe’s backup status seem to create a lane for Griffin, who was known for his physical, Sherman-esque style and skills at UCF.

It’s possible that Lane’s so-so 2016 was a part of his long recovery from his own serious knee injury he suffered in The Game That Will Not Be Named after the 2014 season. Lane missed basically all of 2015 and is entering the second year of his four-year deal he signed with Seattle. General Manager John Schneider and the Seahawks are paying him $4 million for his services in 2017.

Griffin is larger than Lane, and if he shows he can clamp down on receivers and continues to earn high praise from defensive coordinator Kris Richard, the Seahawks could start their next version of the LOB early this year.

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Already showing some savvy on the practice field while covering receivers, Griffin has an inside track because of his size and the kind of defense that Carroll and Richard like to play. Even if he doesn’t crack the starting lineup in 2017, Griffin is another member of what should be a deep secondary, possibly the most talented since the Super Bowl 48 team.

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