Shaquem Griffin was a late invite to the Scouting Combine and he’s made the most of his chance to show off in Indianapolis this week.
Griffin completed 20 reps in the bench press with a prosthetic left hand on Saturday and followed that up by running fast in the 40 on Sunday. Griffin posted an unofficial time of 4.38 in his 40-yard dash, which, per NFL Media, was the fastest for a linebacker since 2003.
It’s the same time his brother Shaquill, who plays cornerback, posted before being drafted in the third round by the Seahawks last year and a NFL Network video showing the two Griffins running at the same time appeared to show that Shaquem, who has 30-odd pounds on his brother, was slightly behind when they hit the tape. The official time went into the books at 4.38, though.
His second run was unofficially timed at 4.58 seconds, but the first run was very strong and allowed Griffin to accomplish his goal of putting up his best showing this week.
“I remember, my brother told me last year, what you put in is what you’ll get out of it,” Griffin said this week. “I’m not going to look back and say that I didn’t put in enough. I’m putting everything I’ve got into it and I started off good, and now I’m trying to finish strong.”
Griffin came into the draft process as a great story because of all that he’s accomplished despite having his hand amputated when he was four years old. His play at UCF and effort in the combine will ensure he gets an opportunity to keep writing that story in the NFL.