Every season, a bevy of players change teams. Some do so by leaving the college ranks and joining their professional teams via the NFL Draft. Others score a big payday and change teams in free agency. Others still seek out a change of scenery in hopes of resurrecting their careers. Such is the case for new Minnesota Vikings cornerback Shaquill Griffin.
Frequently, players in this third category find themselves the center of “feel-good” stories, as the media tries to portray them as the underdog. Who doesn’t love a good underdog story, right? In that vein, Griffin has been tabbed as the Vikings’ top player to root for by Dan Parr of NFL.com.
Parr recently went through each team in the NFC, singling out one player on each as the “player to root for,” with Griffin earning top marks for the Vikings. Griffin comes to the Vikings after spending the 2023 season with the Carolina Panthers and, later, the Houston Texans. Griffin struggled in 2023, and he hasn’t been the same player for several years, as he was early in his career with the Seattle Seahawks.
In just his third year in the league, Griffin was a standout corner for the Seahawks, notching his first Pro Bowl selection and seemingly well on his way to becoming one of the better corners in the league for years to come.
Griffin will be looking to regain that status with the Vikings and hopefully improve a cornerback unit that could really use some more production. Griffin will also provide veteran leadership regardless of performance which is where the young players like Khyree Jackson will benefit most.