Regular readers are well aware that we are slowly working our way through grading each of the nine draft picks the Seattle Seahawks made in 2018 using the benefit of a season of hindsight. We have already made it two thirds of the way through the grading process
Ethan Pocic Jersey , having already finished looking at the selections of First round running back Rashaad Penny,Third round defensive end Rasheem Green,Seventh round quarterback Alex McGough, Sixth round defensive end Jacob Martin,Fifth round tackle Jamarco Jones andFifth round Pro Bowl punter Michael Dickson.Now we move to the third of four fifth round selections the Seahawks held in 2018, and take a look at linebacker Shaquem Griffin. Hopefully I don’t have to go into great detail about the fact that teammate Shaquill Griffin is his twin brother, and the two are back playing together once again after the 2017 season represented the first season they did not play on the same team. Having been teammates first at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, FL and then together at the University of Central Florida for four years, where Shaquem redshirted for the 2013 season while Shaquill did not. (Author’s note: Just in case you were wondering how competitive high school football in Florida is, as Juniors in 2011 at Lakewood the Griffin twins were teammates with Dante Fowler of the Los Angeles Rams on a team that went 7-4 according to MaxPreps.)Getting back to Shaquem’s 2018 performance for the Seahawks, however, he did not get nearly the playing time on defense as some might have expected, but did play a significant role on special teams. The Hawks used Shaquem extensively on special teams, and by the end of the season only six other Hawks had accumulated more special teams snaps. On those special teams snaps he recorded five tackles, while adding another four tackles on defense, three of which were solo tackles with the last one a small assist coming from Rasheem Green. And that brings us to the discussion of Griffin’s play on defense. Shaquem was a tackling machine for the Hawks defense during the preseason, wracking up 26 tackles, including a total of 17 in the two games against the Oakland Raiders and Indianapolis Colts, however
Shaquill Griffin Jersey , it wasn’t all good. That tweet from Field Gulls’ own Matty F. Brown came on the day the Seahawks played against the Denver Broncos in a disappointing season opening loss, which was the only game of the season in which Shaquem started. In fact, it wasn’t just the only game he started, it ended up as the game in which he saw the majority of the defensive snaps he played all season. Here’s a table showing his defensive snap count by game over the course of the 2018 season. Shaquem Griffin 2018 defensive snap count log by gameWeekOpponentDefensive SnapsWeekOpponentDefensive SnapsNow, it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to be able to analyze that data. Most anyone should be able to figure out that a player who was healthy and active for all 16 games and recorded 41 defensive snaps while starting Week 1 and subsequently went on to finish the season with a total of 50 defensive snaps likely didn’t play very well in that Week 1 start. Obviously the data does not shed any light on the why, and that’s what the tape is for, which is why it’s fantastic to have someone like Matty around so that he can watch the tape and I can simply piggyback off his phenomenal work. In any case, as a fifth round pick Shaquem’s ability to come in and be a special teams contributor is significant. Maybe through experience and development he can address the pursuit angle issues that showed up, and perhaps he can one day develop into a starting linebacker at the NFL level. Even if he does not however, he has already proven that he can certainly fill a role as a core member of special teams units, while serving as depth at the linebacker position. Thus, even if he never develops into a starting caliber linebacker, there’s nothing wrong with a fifth round pick developing into the next Mike Morgan, D.J. Alexander, Heath Farwell or any other depth linebacker across the NFL who is also a special teams standout. Griffin has shown he can be a contributor in the NFL, and going forward he should have plenty of opportunity to develop more of his game. Where does that leave the Seahawks grade for the pick? The Seattle Seahawks have a sizable amount of cap space (approximately $55M) and a fairly large group of players on expiring deals—30 between unrestricted, restricted and exclusive rights free agents. On Friday, we went through the team’s unrestricted free agents and assessed who is likely to be re-signed and who isn’t. Today, we’ll do something similar with their four restricted free agents—Quinton Jefferson
http://www.seahawkslockerroom.com/authentic-marshawn-lynch-jersey , Akeem King, George Fant and Tre Madden—while also assessing which tender they could receive from the Seahawks. Quick explanation of the three tenders available to teams: (1) First-round tender (the team would receive a first-round pick as compensation), (2) Second-round tender (second-round pick as compensation) and (3) Original-round tender (the round the player was selected as compensation). A team could also simply not extend a qualifying offer, thus making the potential RFA into an unrestricted free agent. With all three tenders, the team placing the tender has right of first refusal; the difference is in the cost of the tender. Per Over The Cap’s projection for 2019, a first-round tender would cost Seattle $4.429M, a second $3.11M and original round $2.035M. So how will the Seahawks handle their restricted free agents?George FantFant is the most interesting RFA of the group. Entering 2017, there was optimism the former UDFA with a tremendous athletic profile would be able to develop into the long-term solution at left tackle. A torn ACL robbed him of that season, and in 2018 he returned to play 34 percent of the offense’s snaps—the majority of which came as a sixth offensive lineman.An original-round tender would see Seattle lose him for nothing if they didn’t match an offer sheet from another team. However, with Duane Brown and Germain Ifedi under contract for 2019, Fant’s role on a one-year deal would likely remain restricted to that of a sixth lineman. Would the Seahawks pony up the extra $1.1M necessary to place a second-round tender on Fant, all but assuring no team would give him an offer sheet? It wouldn’t be a terrible use of money, but I don’t expect them to do so. Verdict: Original-round tender.Quinton JeffersonAnother valuable rotational piece for Seattle in 2018, Jefferson stepped up in a big way and was evidence of how important utilization is: Used as a 5-tech/big end capable of reducing inside for the first time, Jefferson enjoyed his best season yet and started 12 games. The Seahawks will surely be adding pieces to their defensive line ahead of the 2019 season, but lessening Jefferson’s workload wouldn’t lessen the value his versatility brings. However, his draft position (fifth-round pick) makes it a fairly easy decision. It’s doubtful another team would sacrifice a fifth-round pick of their own to sign Jefferson to an offer sheet, and if they did, Seattle would have no issue finding a similarly useful rotational player. Verdict: Original-round tender. Akeem KingKing was a pleasant surprise for the Seahawks in 2018
Tyler Lockett Jersey , playing meaningful snaps after injuries forced Delano Hill out of the big nickel role and into the starting lineup. The fifth year cornerback has the profile Seattle seeks and impressed after initially being cut at the end of training camp. However, if the Seahawks were to even offer an original-round tender to King, one would have to imagine he would sign it immediately. Per Over The Cap, King’s career earnings are just over $1.3M. A tender of more than $2M would be highly appealing to King, even coming off his best season to date.Verdict: No qualifying offer made, though Seattle would be interested in having him in training camp on a smaller deal with no guarantees. Tre MaddenIt’s kind of incredible that in 2018, Madden was on the Seahawks’ roster for the entire season. Injuries limited him to 14 games, but Madden stuck around despite existing in a crowded backfield and playing just eight percent of the offense’s snaps. On special teams—the reason Madden’s on the roster—he played 55 percent on a unit that finished 24th in DVOA. Madden’s situation is closely similar to King’s. Seattle may want him to return to again compete for a roster spot in camp, but a tender of roughly $2M would guarantee him $700,000 more than he’s made in his career up to this point. Verdict: No qualifying offer made, could return on a deal with no guarantees. Though the decisions aren’t nearly as difficult as some of the Seahawks’ unrestricted free agents, it will be fascinating to see how Seattle navigates restricted free agency, particularly in the case of Fant. It’s doubtful the Seahawks will be in line for compensation, but if it means hanging on to several rotational players from 2018, then they’ll be in good shape.