When the Seattle Seahawks take the field on Sunday afternoon for Week 1 action against the Denver Broncos, rookie linebacker Shaquem Griffin will begin his NFL career in the starting lineup.

This is a unique opportunity as he will be playing alongside his twin brother, Shaquill Griffin, which he has voiced a high level of excitement for this opportunity to begin the 2018 season, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

“You got a lot of dreams, but sometimes it don’t play out how you think it is,” Shaquem Griffin told reporters on Friday. “We always thought about, we’re just going to play in the league, but it’s always going to be against each other. We didn’t think that far because we both play defense, so we didn’t know how that was going to work. To be beside each other again, it’s amazing.”

Griffin has been put in this spot due to Pro Bowl linebacker K.J. Wright recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery that will force him to miss the next several weeks. Griffin has earned this chance to start because of his strong showing in the preseason and training camp that saw him be one of the bright spots on that side of the ball that saw him garner 18 total tackles over three preseason games, including a team-best nine in the first preseason tilt.

The 23-year-old has shown to be a capable defender that has the ability to get to the ball quickly while providing stability to the second level of the defense. The first few weeks of the season will give him the opportunity to etch out a significant role in the front seven even when Wright returns to the fold.

In the meantime, this is a special and rare opportunity for Griffin to play alongside his brother in the NFL to what could be a long-term pairing in Seattle.