Shaquill Griffin was born to Tangie and Terry Griffin on July 20, 1995, less than two minutes before Shaquem. Shaquill and Shaquem competed together in track, baseball, and football.
Griffin played for the University of Central Florida Knights from 2013 to 2016, rejecting offers from other teams including the Miami Hurricanes, his dream team, to play with his twin brother Shaquem. He left UCF one season before Shaquem, as Shaquem redshirted his freshman year while Shaquill saw playing time. As a freshman, Shaquill recorded six total tackles and one pass defensed in four games. As a sophomore, Shaquill recorded 15 total tackles and an interception in six games. As a junior, he recorded 43 total tackles, one interception returned for a touchdown, and 11 passes defensed in 11 games. As a senior, he recorded 49 total tackles, four interceptions, 15 passes defensed, and one fumble recovery.
College statistics
Professional career
On October 4, 2017, it was announced that Griffin had accepted his invitation to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. On January 24, 2017, he appeared in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl for Jim Zorn's American team and recorded three combined tackles as they lost 27–7 to the National team. He was one of 35 collegiate cornerbacks to be invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. Griffin was a top performer among his position group, finishing second in the broad jump, third in the vertical jump, and ran the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash among all defensive backs. On March 22, 2017, Griffin attended Central Florida's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills for team representatives and scouts from 20 NFL teams and three CFL teams. Throughout the draft process, Griffin had private workouts and visits with multiple teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and Philadelphia Eagles. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Griffin was projected to be a third- or fourth-round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the 17th-best cornerback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. The Seattle Seahawks selected Griffin in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the 13th cornerback selected in 2017.
2017
On June 15, 2017, the Seattle Seahawks signed Griffin to a four-year, $3.25 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $758,620. Griffin joined the defensive unit nicknamed the Legion of Boom for its final season. Throughout training camp, Griffin competed against Jeremy Lane, DeShawn Shead, and Neiko Thorpe for the starting cornerback job. Head coach Pete Carroll named Griffin the fourth cornerback on the depth chart behind Richard Sherman, Jeremy Lane, and Neiko Thorpe. He made his professional regular season debut in the Seattle Seahawks' season-opener at the Green Bay Packers and made a season-high ten combined tackles and deflected one pass during their 17–9 loss. Griffin played the majority of the game after Jeremy Lane was ejected in the first quarter after allegedly throwing a punch at Packers wide receiverDavante Adams. On October 8, 2017, Griffin made his first career start after Jeremy Lane was inactive after suffering a groin injury during their Week 4 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He finished the Seahawks' 16–10 win against the Los Angeles Rams with six solo tackles and one pass deflection. The following week, Griffin earned his second consecutive start with Lane still inactive and recorded three solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections in Seattle's 24–7 victory at the New York Giants. After Lane returned from injury, head coach Pete Carroll stated Griffin would remain the starting cornerback entering Week 8. On November 20, 2017, Griffin recorded one solo tackle before leaving the Seahawks' 34–31 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the first quarter after suffering a concussion. He remained in concussion protocol and was inactive for the Seahawks' 24–13 victory at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12. During a Week 16 matchup at the Dallas Cowboys, Griffin collected five combined tackles and made his first career sack on Dak Prescott as the Seahawks defeated them 21–12. On December 31, 2017, Griffin recorded six solo tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception during their 26–24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. His first career interception came in the third quarter off a pass attempt by Drew Stanton intended for Jaron Brown. He finished the season with 59 combined tackles, 15 pass deflections, one interception, and one sack in 15 games and 11 starts. Pro Football Focus gave Griffin an overall grade of 77.2, ranking as the 58th-highest grade among all qualified cornerbacks in 2017.
2018
Griffin was reunited with his twin brother Shaquem in the 2018 season, as Shaquem was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft on April 28, 2018. On September 17, 2018, Griffin notched two interceptions and three pass deflections against Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in a 17-24 road loss at Soldier Field.
