Meet The First One-Handed Player Ever Drafted In The NFL

You may never fully understand what it means to go against all odds until you meet Shaquem Griffin, the first one-handed player in the history of the NFL. Griffin made history on Saturday after the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

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Born with amniotic band syndrome, which caused the fingers on his left hand to not develop fully, Griffin went through amputation at just four years old. However, this didn’t stop him from taking part in track and field, baseball and American football – and American football was obviously closer to his heart.

He was offered a scholarship to the University of Central Florida where he became the 2016 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was named the Defensive MVP at the 2018 Peach Bowl – an annual college football bowl game.

Despite his performances in college, he wasn’t initially invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in March. But he participated all the same and shocked fans and scouts by pulling off 20 reps of 225 pounds on the bench-press using a prosthetic hand and running the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds!

The reps and 40-yard dash got him an invitation to the 2018 NFL Draft in which the Seattle Seahawks selected him.

Reacting to his selection, Griffin said:

“It was like I was dreaming. Magical stuff started happening. It’s unexplainable, the emotions, everything that was going through my mind. It was crazy.”

To make it even crazier, he’ll be reuniting with his twin brother, Shaquill who has been playing for the Seattle Seahawks since last year.