Five Seahawks that are must-watch in preseason action

Shaquill Griffin

If any of the other players on this list don’t take the next step, the Seahawks can probably survive. If Shaquill Griffin doesn’t, this secondary could be in big trouble. After a promising rookie campaign, many fans believed Griffin was poised to replace Richard Sherman at left corner.

But 2018 was not good for Griffin. In his first year as the number 1 corner, he regressed from his rookie season and some weeks looked like the number 2 guy to rookie Tre Flowers. This year, Seattle lost nickel corner Justin Coleman and didn’t spend a draft pick on an outside corner, or invest in one in free agency.

This shows that the Seahawks are putting a lot of pressure on Griffin to take the next step. If he can’t, there are few options to turn to. Griffin himself knows he had a rough 2018 and said, “Last year was an average year. Being a number 1 corner, I can’t have average years.”

Griffin graded himself a D+ and has shed 10 pounds of fat in an attempt to get leaner. Griffin still has the length and blazing speed to be a well-above-average corner, but he also needs to make more plays on the ball to be elite.

2019 will be a huge year for him. His first payday is on the horizon, but only if he can step up and grow into the corner the Seahawks believe he can be.