Seahawks select OL Grey Zabel with 18th overall pick in first round of 2025 NFL Draft
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Our Seattle Seahawks have answered the pleas of their fanbase finally, selecting offensive lineman Grey Zabel out of North Dakota State University. There was intrigue about what the Seahawks were going to do with this selection, whether it was about what position Seattle was going to target at this slot or if they’d get an enticing enough offer to move out of it, but it seems general manager John Schneider went with the obvious decision to address the interior offensive line. It’s nice to see that Seattle isn’t trying to outsmart anybody with their selection and instead they get a guy that will help a major area of need immediately on a team that is looking to reach the postseason after missing it by a statistical tiebreaker last year.
“There was a few teams that were a possibility bit in the moment you’re just kind of holding your breath util that phone rings and unbelievably grateful that was the Seahawks calling.”
Zabel has the versatility to play all over the offensive line, slotting in at guard, tackle and center during his college tenure but he was officially listed as a guard in the announcement of his pick by the Seahawks. Considering the uncertainty at both guard spots for Seattle, you can certainly expect that Zabel will compete for a starting spot at either guard position as a rookie. If you’re a Seahawks fan, you’ll know how frustrating the revolving doors have been at both guard spots as most recently Laken Tomlinson left in free agency after “holding down” the left guard spot while the other guard position was a few different names throughout the 2024 season.
“Man, I’m probably going to start divin’ into these Busch Lights. High alert for Pierre, South Dakota. We’re going to have fun and enjoy this tonight.”
In recent memory, it’s always interesting to wonder if Seattle general manager John Schneider will trade out of it’s first round draft slot, and the team did speak to those around the league looking to potentially make a deal, but ultimately the Seahawks went with the 6-foot-6, 316 pound Zabel. If we’re looking at Seattle draft history, Zabel now becomes the fifth offensive lineman of the 13 firs-round picks made by John Schneider since he officially became the Seahawks general manager way back in 2010, and the first offensive lineman that they’ve taken since back when they selected tackle Charles Cross ninth overall in the 2022 draft. In terms of offensive guard history, Zabel is the highest-drafted offensive guard taken by Seattle since they took Steve Hutchinson with the 17th overall pick back in 2001, who eventually became a Hall of Famer.
“Zabel is a five-position lineman who brings everything but elite arm length to the position. He is an easy projected starter at center or guard for primarily a zone blocking scheme, but he is well-rounded enough to be run-game versatile.”
It’s not entirely surprising that the Seahawks will have Zabel listed as a guard, but it is at least a little bit interesting. At North Dakota State University, Grey took snaps at all five spots of the line but he did play all 961 snaps last year at left tackle and 686 at right tackle in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus. If we use Pro Football Focus and look back further into Zabel’s collegiate career, he played 211 snaps at left guard in 2023 and 152 in 2022, which may make it the most obvious and logical place that Seattle could plan to play him at. Some may ask about Zabel at center, another offensive line position that the Seahawks haven’t fully been able to solidify, and it could have made some sense to see him there as he played 14 snaps at center in 2022 and worked there during the Senior Bowl this year, as teams assessed if that could also be a position for him in the future. To counter that point about him playing at guard, Zabel also played guard at the Senior Bowl, where his workouts showcased him as one of the fastest-rising interior offensive linemen available in this years draft.
Having mentioned North Dakota State University a few times already, it’s interesting because Zabel almost wasn’t drafted out of that school because he had offers from several Power Five teams to transfer following the 2023 season, at least some of which he said were up to six figures. Zabel decided that he’d turn them down, as he said that he wanted to stay at NDSU and prove he could make it to the NFL from the FCS level. He’s done just that, and now looks to be a crucial piece of Seattle’s offensive line going forward.
Zabel has what is required to play at the NFL level, often being described as a “mauler” with strong agility that will help him fit easily into the scheme of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. He grades well physically, just about everywhere besides having shorter arms which will be fine at an interior line position as opposed to if someone wanted to play him as a tackle. A strong broad jump shows off his athleticism, and his lower body explosiveness is something that played into his high rise up draft boards. It’s a weaker draft for interior offensive linemen, and the Seahawks were able to get the one that was the consensus first round graded option.
What’s next?
Unless a trade is made by President of Football Operations and general manager John Schneider, our Seattle Seahawks next pick will come in the second round at the eighth overall selection of the round, which is the teams original selection. In addition to that pick at 18th overall, our Seahawks have the 20th pick in the second round as a result of the DK Metcalf trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle has four total picks between the second and third rounds of this years draft, and that may be the more interesting range of selections for the Seahawks given how they’ll try to address perceived needs there. Wide receiver is an area that some thought Schneider may have gone with the 18th overall selection, so you could certainly think that the Seahawks could look that route with one of those four picks between the second and third rounds, as well as other spots along the offensive line.
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Check out our previous Seattle Seahawks articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
Cover photo by David Samson/The Forum
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