Being limited to one hand hasn’t stopped Shaquem Griffin from stealing the show at the NFL scouting combine.
The Central Florida linebacker, who is missing his entire left hand, has turned heads in Indianapolis and potentially raised his draft stock with jaw-dropping performances in the drills.
Griffin first dazzled by racking up 20 repetitions of 225 pounds in the bench press on Saturday by using a prosthetic on his left arm. For comparison, Carolina Panthers star Luke Kuechly, who is widely considered one of the top linebackers in the NFL, pumped out 27 bench press reps at the combine in 2012.
Griffin’s followed up the show of strength by displaying amazing speed to clock a time of 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash on Sunday – the fastest for any linebacker since 2003.
WOW. 😱😱😱@ShaquemGriffin just ran a 4.38u 40-yard dash!
— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2018
The fastest LB at the #NFLCombine since 2003.
📺: @Nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/TKHXVZri4n
For perspective on how quick that is for the position, running back and top prospect Saquon Barkley raised eyebrows for running the 40 in 4.40 seconds on Friday.
The 22-year-old Griffin, whose twin brother Shaquill is a cornerback with the Seattle Seahawks, was born with a deformed left hand due to amniotic band syndrome and had it amputated at the age of four to relieve pain that nearly caused him to cut off his remaining digits himself.
Griffin’s display at the combine not only makes him the draft’s feel-good story, but bodes well for his stock as he attempts to become the first player with one hand to be drafted in the NFL in the modern era.
If @Shaquemgriffin doesn’t get drafted in the first two days the system is broken. Productive and performed well at the combine. Played well against high level competition.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) March 4, 2018
