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 Frank Clark Color Rush 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, 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 Dion Jordan Color Rush Jersey , 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? In the immediate aftermath of the Seattle Seahawks loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Pete Carroll stated that it was believed that right guard Jordan Simmons had a grade 1 knee sprain, and that his status would be evaluated going forward. That is not a horrible diagnosis, as a player’s ability to return from or play through such an injury exists at some level. Unfortunately for the Hawks, it appears that the initial assessment of the injury may have been inaccurate. Specifically, on Monday Carroll provided an update stating that while it can not yet be categorized as a “legit” injury, it’s is a “pretty good” injury. What that means for the Seahawks is that if D.J. Fluker cannot go, they may be looking for help at right guard. Whether or not Fluker will be able to suit up on Sunday is still up in the air, but they’ll know more in the coming days. So, if neither Fluker nor Simmons are able to play, that then leaves the right guard spot to most likely fall to Ethan Pocic. However, following Pocic’s poor showing Sunday against San Francisco, if Fluker is unable to play, it is possible the team could look elsewhere for help. The most logical next choice could be practice squad guard Jordan Roos, who spent last season on the active roster, seeing mostly special teams action before playing in place of an injured Pocic against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17. If Simmons’ injury is significant enough to land him on IR, and the team decides to add outside help, there are not a lot of recognizable names available at this late juncture in the season. There are a handful, including:Jahri EvansAllen BarbreEthan CooperMatt TobinJohn JerrySkyler PhillipsEvans is a name everyone probably recognizes from his cup of coffee in Seattle in 2016 prior to his return to the New Orleans Saints that season, before spending 2017 with the Green Bay Packers. I don’t know if he’d have any interest in playing for a contender Tedric Thompson Color Rush Jersey , or if he’s even in football shape, he just happens to be on this list of NFL free agents.Barbre and Tobin both kind of fall into the same boat. They have both been in the league for some time, having spent time with several different teams over the years, but neither is great. Neither is truly a fit for right guard in Mike Solari’s system, but they’re both names that have spend time with the Seahawks in recent seasons, so are at least familiar with assistant offensive line coach Pat Ruel. Next up are Jerry and Cooper. Jerry is a veteran of the league who spent the last two seasons playing for as a member of the New York Giants, and he has the size and familiarity with what Solari likes to do. Cooper was a 2017 undrafted free agent who spent most of last season on the practice squad of the Giants, so he also has experience with Solari, though at just 6’2” and 322 pounds, he doesn’t quite bring the size of a guy like Jerry, Fluker or Simmons. Last on the list is Skyler Phillips, an offensive lineman who played college football at Idaho State before signing the with Seattle as an undrafted free agent in the spring. He was waived at the end of training camp and is currently a free agent. Listed at 6’3” and 344 pounds in college, at first glance he would seem to have the size Solari likes. Unfortunately, coaches seem to tend to overstate how big their players are, and when Phillips showed up at the combine he weighed in at just 318 pounds. He did demonstrate impressive athleticism for that size (31 reps on the bench at his pro day, 104” broad and 29” vertical at the combine, while posting a 5.09 time in the 40).I’m kind of suprised he is not a member of the Oakland Raiders, or at least not on their practice squad with those measurables, but perhaps Tom Cable simply wants to wait until he’s traded Kelechi Osemele and Donald Penn in the offseason before bringing in any more of his players. Speaking of Cable and the Raiders, over the past couple of weeks Jon Gruden’s Oakland squad has found itself in a very similar situation where it is short on guards. Osemele has been battling a knee injury since early in the year which caused him to miss Weeks 5 and 6, and a more recent toe injury has kept him out of each of the last two games. Stepping in to start for Osemele in Week 14 was Jon Feliciano, a 2015 fourth round pick who has made just eight starts in his career. However, Feliciano was promptly injured in Week 14, which led the Raiders to sign Chaz Green.Green is a name that some fans may recognize from his time with the Dallas Cowboys from 2015 until 2017. A former third round pick of Dallas in 2015, Green spent the entire 2015 season inactive, and then was the swing tackle for 2016. And then 2017 happened. For those who don’t remember what happened to Green, he is the tackle who stepped at left tackle in late 2017 for an injured Tyron Smith Ethan Pocic Color Rush Jersey , leading to the Adrian Clayborn debacle in Dallas. And here’s more just because I don’t like the Cowboys. Now, back to Cable and the Raiders, following injuries to both Osemele and Feliciano (as well as to starting right guard Gabe Jackson), the Raiders were forced to sign the aforementioned Chaz Green at the end of November. Then, nineteen days after Green was signed, he was thrust into the starting lineup where he got to face off against two time All-Pro, six time Pro Bowler Geno Atkins. The result was, in a word, predictable. I could tell you all about it, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll simply put up a photo essay worth several thousand words. In the fourth quarter Atkins simply took over and began dominating Green. The first two times he took down Carr, he did so on a swim move. And then later in the fourth quarter he again used a swim move to slide right past Green. So, after recording his second sack of the game on Carr, both on swim moves, Atkins decided to use a bull rush and absolutely obliterate Green. I am fairly certain that is not proper form. So, in short, what Green couldn’t pick up in three years with the Cowboys he probably hasn’t learned in less than three weeks with the Raiders. Point is, there’s not a lot of quality options available on the free agent market, so while the thought of the Hawks having to go with Pocic or Roos at right guard may not be extremely attractive, it may be the best option available to the Hawks. Obviously, it’s only Tuesday, so we’ll have to wait and see what kind of updates we get on Fluker’s hamstring and Simmons’ knee, and until then it’s kind of wait and see. And hope.