Everson Griffen
Everson Griffen is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League. A graduate of Agua Fria High School, Griffen played college football for the USC Trojans. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft and played for them for 10 seasons before signing with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. He was traded to the Detroit Lions later that year, then re-signed with the Vikings in August 2021.
Early life
Griffen attended Agua Fria High School in Avondale, Arizona, the same high school as Vikings Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel. At Agua Fria, Griffen played as a defensive lineman and running back for the Owls high school football team.As a junior, he rushed for 794 yards on 142 carries for eight touchdowns, and had 12 receptions for 168 yards and one 71-yard reception where he outraced everybody for a score. On defense, he was double and triple-teamed but still managed 47 tackles, five sacks and three fumble recoveries.
As a senior, Griffen recorded 77 tackles, 16 sacks and a fumble recovery as a defensive end and ran for 1,251 yards on 159 carries with 20 touchdowns and had 6 receptions with 2 touchdowns as a running back. His 2006 senior season honors included Super Prep Player of the Year, Scout.com Player of the Year, Parade All-American, EA Sports All-American first-team, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Scout.com All-American, Lemming All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star 100, Rivals.com 100, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Scout.com All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first-team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first-team, Arizona Republic All Arizona, West Valley View First-team, Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 and Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year.
Also a standout track & field athlete, Griffen was one of the state's top performers in the throwing events. At the 2007 4A I State Meet, he won both the shot put and discus events. He recorded top throws of 17.67 meters in the shot put and 55.11 meters in the discus. Following his junior season, he attended the 2005 Arizona summer camp, where he ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and about 260 pounds, which earned him the nickname "the Freak" and led to comparisons to All-Pro defensive end Jevon Kearse. Griffen also earned first-team all-region honors in basketball.
Recruiting
Following his high school career, Griffen was selected to play in the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl along with fellow USC recruits Marc Tyler, Kristofer O'Dowd, Joe McKnight, and Chris Galippo. During the recruiting process, he took official visits to USC, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA, and Florida before committing to the Trojans on November 24, 2006.College career
Freshman season (2007)
Griffen had an impressive showing as a first-year true freshman backup defensive end in 2007, playing primarily in pass rushing situations. Overall, in 2007, while appearing in all 13 games, he totaled 21 tackles, including 5.5 for losses of 30 yards, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and two pass deflections. He became the first USC true freshman to start an opener on the defensive line in 21 seasons since Tim Ryan in 1986 against Illinois and the first true freshman to start on the defensive line since Shaun Cody did so in 2001 against Utah.In the Trojans' 24–3 victory over Oregon State on November 3, Griffen posted six tackles and a career-high 3.5 of USC's nine total sacks to earn Rivals.com National Freshman of the Week honors. On November 22, he had six tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery that set up a USC touchdown at Arizona State. For his season efforts in 2007, he was named to the Freshman All-American first-team by the, Sporting News, Football Writers Association of America, Rivals.com, and Scout.com, and Collegefootballnews.com Freshman All-American second-team. He was also the Sporting News Pac-10 Defensive Freshman of the Year and was an All-Pac-10 honorable mention pick.
Sophomore season (2008)
In the fall practice before his freshman season, Griffen and veteran defensive end Kyle Moore got into heated competition that culminated with a fight during practice; the two reconciled and are now friends. During spring practices, former USC coach Pete Carroll staged a prank by having the Los Angeles Police Department enter a team meeting and arrest Griffen for “physically abusing a freshman” ; Griffen was previously aware of the prank.In his sophomore year in 2008, Griffen was USC's pass rush specialist as a backup defensive end. He appeared in all 12 games and started the first three games for the Trojans, compiling 18 tackles, including 6 for losses of 43 yards. He had three tackles against Oregon State and California and two tackles against Virginia, Ohio State, Oregon and Stanford.
Junior season (2009)
On July 4, 2009, at a Fourth of July party on Nantucket Island, Griffen and a teammate, linebacker Jordan Campbell, were cited by the Nantucket Police Department for a noise violation; no charges were filed and the two agreed to write a letter of apology. Overall, he finished the 2009 season with 45 total tackles, eight sacks, one pass defensed, and one forced fumble.In 2009, Griffen was second-team All-Pac-10.
College statistics
Professional career
After USC's 24–13 victory over Boston College in the 2009 Emerald Bowl, Griffen announced he would forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2010 NFL draft. At the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine, Griffen put on a show, running an electronic-timed 4.66 in the 40-yard dash and bench-pressing 225 lbs 32 times. His 40 time was second among defensive lineman, while his 32 reps were tied for sixth-best. Entering his Pro Day workout as one of the most scrutinized prospects in the NFL draft, Griffen lived up to his nickname as "the Freak," posting a 34-inch vertical jump, 9-foot-7 broad jump and 40-yard dash time of 4.59 seconds, though some scouts had his second run as low as 4.46.Minnesota Vikings (first stint)
2010 season
Griffen was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the second pick in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft, becoming the 100th player selected overall. After being inactive for the opening five games of the season, he played in the final 11 games, finishing his rookie year with 11 tackles, all of them solo. On January 28, 2011, Griffen was arrested in Los Angeles for public intoxication. Three days later, he was arrested again after he was found driving with an invalid drivers license. He then tried to flee on foot only to be tased.2011 season
In his second season, Griffen played in all 16 games for the Vikings, mostly on special teams as a gunner on punt coverage at times as well as serving as a regular on return units, helping the Vikings special teams unit set a team record with a 26.9 kickoff return average for the season and tied for first in the NFL with four kickoff returns of +50 yards. His 4 sacks on the year ranked fourth on the team and contributed to the Vikings 50 total sacks on the season, tied for first in the NFL. His 18 special teams tackles ranked second on the team behind team-leader Eric Frampton, who posted four more. In Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he notched his first career sack when he brought down quarterback Josh Freeman.2012 season
After a quiet performance early in the 2012 season, he came on strong late in the season, posting five sacks, one interception returned for a touchdown, and 16 quarterback hurries in the final seven games. His first sack of the year came in Week 2 as he brought down Andrew Luck for a 22-yard loss against the Indianapolis Colts. It was the third-longest sack in team history. On October 11, 2012, Griffen was given an indefinite leave from the team after his mother died.In week 15 against the St. Louis Rams, Griffen scored his first career touchdown on his first career interception, taking to the house a Sam Bradford pass 29 yards for the score in a key victory for the Vikings' playoff chances. His 29-yard interception return touchdown ranks as the fourth-longest in Vikings history by a defensive lineman. The following week, he earned his first career start in a road game against the Houston Texans, finishing the game with a solo tackle. On December 30, he posted a career-best 3 sacks against the Green Bay in the regular season finale win over the Packers that gave the Vikings a playoff berth. He had a tackle and a sack in his playoff debut at Green Bay in the Wild Card Round.
2013 season
In 2013, Griffen was used all over the defensive line, playing in all 16 games with no starts. He finished the 2013 season with 5.5 sacks, including 2.5 in the final two games of the regular season. On September 29, he recorded the game-winning strip-sack on Ben Roethlisberger against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL International Series game at London.In Week 2 in a road game against the Chicago Bears, he tipped a Jay Cutler pass that led to a Kevin Williams interception in the endzone for a touchback. He recorded a season-best six tackles and tied a career-high with 3 tackles for loss in a loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. He ended the season with 27 tackles, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
2014 season
On March 9, 2014, Griffen re-signed with the Vikings on a five-year contract worth $42.5 million, including $20 million guaranteed. He enjoyed a breakout season in his first year as a full-time starter, helping the Vikings revamped defense have the most improved defense in the NFL. He started all 16 games after entering the season with one start in his first four seasons with the Vikings. On October 19, Griffen had a career day against the Buffalo Bills in Week 7 when he recorded a career-high nine tackles and tied a career-high with 3 sacks.He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month in October after recording six sacks and a forced fumble in just four games. In Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers, Griffen returned a Jasper Brinkley blocked punt for 43 yards for a touchdown, making it the longest blocked punt returned by a Vikings player in franchise history. Griffen ended his breakout season with 57 combined tackles, one forced fumble, one blocked punt for a touchdown, three passes defensed, and a career-best 12 sacks, which led the team and tied for ninth-best in the league.