Jacksonville Jaguars: It looks like Shaquill Griffin was worth the investment

Instead of pursuing big-name players in free agency, the Jacksonville Jaguars focused on adding depth to the roster. However, they did pay a few players a sizable amount of cash. Cornerback Shaquill Griffin was one of them. The 2017 third-round pick signed a three-year deal worth $40 million. While that may seem like a hefty amount at first, it looks like it was worth the investment.

Griffin has quickly become one of the most prominent Jaguars defensive players this year. Head coach Urban Meyer met with the local media after the first day of training camp and talked in-depth about the cornerback. Meyer pointed out that there are two groups of people, “There are takers and there are givers”.

"Takers are people that you have to constantly motivate… Great players prepare, average players got to motivate all the time, Shaq I’ve never. He loves the game, he loves the practice."

At the time, it looked like the Jags might have overpaid for Griffin. After all, he hasn’t made many big plays during his four-year career, logging just five interceptions and no forced fumbles in that snap. Moreover, the Central Florida product has allowed a completion percentage rate of 57.1 or higher over the last three seasons. Nevertheless, the team’s brass doesn’t expect a shutdown corner. They wanted someone to help stabilize the secondary and lead their young cornerback room. That’s precisely what the 2019 Pro Bowl nod is doing.

Shaquill Griffin is making an impact with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Griffin also talked to the local media after Day 1 of training camp. He said there are several things he liked about the Jaguars’ cornerback group, such as going through organized team activities together, coming back from a little break, and seeing nothing has changed.

"You know everybody’s still asking questions. Everybody’s still trying to get close, everybody’s still trying to grant that fellowship, that brothership. Like that’s awesome. You know you’re on the first day everybody’s still working hard, everybody’s still trying to learn more and I think that’s the coolest part."

Griffin mentioned that he’s excited about the Jaguars’ rookies. He acknowledges that it’s early in the process and wants to see how they are playing out, as things could be different between now and Day 14. He went on to emphasize the fact they are getting closer as a group, “that’s awesome to see, we’re gonna need everybody”.

Later, Griffin said the Jags must be a disciplined team when it comes to any potential COVID-19 outbreaks. Four Jaguars players have already been placed on the COVID-19/reserve list. Two of them are back with the team (Luq Barcoo and Jake Luton) but the cornerback emphasized the importance of being smart about extracurricular activities outside of football, “You got to be safe about it”.

Although the regular season is still several weeks away, it seems like Griffin is already setting the tone in the secondary. While it will be a while before he steps on the field, his impact outside of it is quite noticeable and the Jacksonville Jaguars must be pleased with the early returns.