With the 141st overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft’s fifth round, Shaquem Griffin made history on Saturday by becoming the first one-handed player to ever be selected in the draft.
The moment was an especially emotional one for Griffin and his family, as the UCF linebacker will now be teammates with his twin brother Shaquil, who also plays for Seattle.
"I would wait all over again for the opportunity to be back with my brother," Griffin told ESPN shortly after he was drafted, alluding to the fact that he had to wait five rounds. "I couldn't breathe. I didn't know what to say. I was trying to get the words out, but I couldn't talk."
This is the first time that brothers have been drafted by the same team since 2001, when the Titans' took Andre Dyson joined his brother Kevin Dyson. Speaking to ESPN about the moment he heard the news Shaquil said, "I don't think I cried on my draft day. I couldn't hold it. I just couldn't hold it. I'm excited, and I'm glad we made that choice and we're bringing my brother back home."
Griffin, who had his left hand amputated when he was four because of a birth defect, was a standout at this year's NFL Combine. After bench pressing 225 pounds 20 times, he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash—the fastest time for a linebacker since 2003.
Griffin was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection during both of his two years as a starter at UCF and was named the AAC's Defensive Player of the Year in 2016.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was one of the first to congratulate his new teammate, tweeting: "Wow. Chills. God is so good!"
