RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Grey Zabel uses three words to lay out his priorities.
Family. Football. Farming.
The Pierre, South Dakota, native grew up on a family farm, which instilled in the burly offensive lineman lessons and skills that transferred to the football field.
“Working at the farm, it’s kind of understanding that farming and football have a lot in common,” Zabel said. “You plant a seed in the dirt in the spring and tend to it and try and give it as much as you can to grow a great crop in the fall, and football’s the exact same way. You work all offseason to get your body strong, healthy and you reap the benefits in the fall.”
The Seahawks similarly hope their top spring selection will lead to a fruitful fall and beyond. They selected Zabel, a guard out of North Dakota State, with the 18th overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.
“I’m biased, I’m from Wisconsin,” said general manager John Schneider. “So, farms, tough guys, we like those guys.”
The 6-foot-6, 312 pound Zabel started 41 games over five seasons at every position on the offensive line except center. Following his fourth year in the program, the highly sought-after Zabel said he received six-figure offers to transfer to Power Four schools to finish out his collegiate career.
Zabel instead stayed put and was an FCS All-American at left tackle last season.
“There were some offers that kind of made me scratch my head,” Zabel said. “My head coach always calls me stupid for not taking the money. But at the end of the day, I think it paid off pretty well.”
The Seahawks, meanwhile, are optimistic that Zabel can be part of the solution for an offensive line that struggled mightily in 2024. Last season, the Seahawks yielded 54 sacks, tied for third-most in the NFL. The Seahawks, who went 10-7 last season and won the NFC West, ran the vast majority of their plays out of the shotgun formation.
The versatile Zabel could slot in at any of the five starting offensive line positions, but coach Mike MacDonald said he will start out at guard.
“Hopefully we find a home for him at one position and he lives there for a really long time for us,” MacDonald said. “But, I think it just speaks to his savvy. It’s not easy to find those guys that can play interior and at tackle. So, he’s one of them, and he’s ours now.”
Prior to selecting Zabel, the Seahawks hadn’t extensively addressed their offensive line woes via free agency outside of signing journeyman tackle Josh Jones. In theory, Zabel could quickly replace Seattle’s starting left guard from last season, Laken Tomlinson, who is now a member of the Houston Texans.
Though Zabel played left tackle for North Dakota last year, he first played guard as a true freshman. He believes that early experience on the interior should pay dividends.
“The type of style that I play is quick,” Zabel said. “Trying to use my athletic ability and my benefits and basically, at the end of the day, it’s all mentality playing offensive line.”
There are a number of other areas on the roster the Seahawks will need to and could address with their remaining nine draft picks. They signed veteran wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling during the offseason, but the departures of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to the Steelers and Titans, respectively, mean that position group could use further reinforcements.
Should the athletic Zabel live up to his potential, though, he would prove to be an impactful addition in his own right. Keeping new quarterback Sam Darnold upright after he was signed this offseason to a three-year, $100.5 million deal will be a priority for Seattle.
The franchise took a step toward doing so in drafting Zabel, who expected to celebrate being drafted with a beer.
“I’m probably going to start diving into these Busch Light’s and celebrating. Have the 12-hour rule, you get to celebrate it for 12 hours and then you get back to work,” Zabel said.
