:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59212593/900355194.jpg.0.jpg)
Believe it or not the 2018 NFL Draft isn’t that far away, which means we’ll start getting news of who the Jacksonville Jaguars have shown interest in and who they could be targeting in the draft.
On Thursday, UCF had their Pro Day of which the Jaguars were in attendance taking a look at linebacker Shaquem Griffin. I say linebacker, because Griffin has played all over the Knights defense and some NFL teams even view him as a defensive back. The Jaguars also spoke with Griffin at the NFL Combine back in February.
Final note from today's pro day: Shaquem Griffin said most teams have talked to him about playing linebacker, specifically WILL linebacker. He said the Jaguars are one of the ones who have talked to him about linebacker.
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) March 29, 2018
Viewing Griffin as a weakside linebacker seems like the right spot for him, to me, and for the Jaguars it makes the most sense. I won’t say he’s just like Telvin Smith, but he’s in a similar mold in that he’s smallish for an NFL linebacker, but he’s got blazing speed to cover ground and disrupt plays.
A quick recap of #UCF LB Shaquem Griffin's pro day. Outside of some drops, looked pretty solid. He was happy with his performance. pic.twitter.com/fQmSP6peMT
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) March 29, 2018
That’s exactly what Griffin did at UCF too, often playing defensive end/rush backer, using his speed to get to quarterbacks and/or disrupt running plays.
I’m not sure where Griffin is projected to go in the NFL Draft in a few weeks, because it’s hard to gauge just how much teams will hold the fact that he has just one hand against him, but it clearly has yet to hold him back from being a playmaker. He’d be a great fit in the Jaguars scheme and add much needed depth to the linebacker position.