How Grey Zabel broke several Seahawks draft trends under John Schneider

The Seahawks went against historical standards by picking Zabel in the first round.

With their first pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected North Dakota State OL Gray Zabel with the 18th overall pick. Most recent mock drafts had Zabel as a target for the Seahawks. However, when looking at the track record of John Schneider and the team as a whole, the pick seemed unlikely.

Breaking Taboos

Here are some taboos broken by the Zabel pick. It wasn’t written in stone. The team had already gone against its tendencies a few years ago. Seattle hadn’t selected a cornerback in Rounds 1 or 2 since 2007, until Devon Witherspoon arrived in 2023 at No. 5 overall.

Grey Zabel is the first non-quarterback to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in NDSU history. Carson Wentz and Trey Lance were the most recent QBs selected on Day 1.

John Schneider has never picked an IOL in the first round

Schneider drafted James Carpenter in the first round and he played guard at some point, but he was drafted as an OT and played RT in Seattle. Germain Ifedi also played guard, but he was also drafted as an OT and played RT in Seattle.

So far, here’s a list of Schneider’s highest-rated iOLs:

• John Moffitt, third round pick in 2011, at No. 75. Started 9 games as a rookie, suffered an injury, was suspended, and eventually traded to the Broncos;
• Justin Britt, at No. 64 in 2014, though he was an OT, and only later did Tom Cable move him to center;
• Ethan Pocic, at No. 58 in 2017;
• Damien Lewis, third round pick, at No. 69 in 2020;
• Christian Haynes, third round pick, at No. 81 in 2024;

John Schneider said Grey Zabel was the Seahawks’ highest-rated inside player, indicating they would have taken him over Tyler Booker, who went No. 12 overall for Dallas. Mike Macdonald confirmed he’ll play guard, though it’s not yet known which side. At No. 18, Grey Zabel is the highest guard drafted by the Seahawks since Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson was drafted 17th overall in 2001. Hutchinson, now part of Seattle’s scouting department, helped evaluate Gray (and other OLs).

The Seahawks’ first-round iOL additions include:

• Pete Kendall in the 1996 first round (21st overall), who was an OT at Boston College but played as an LG during his time in Seattle;

As a sidenote, Andy Heck was drafted in the 1989 first round (15th overall) and played as an LG in 1992, but that was his only season; the rest of his time with the Seahawks was an OT.

John Schneider almost never drafts players from the FCS

John only drafted four players from FCS:

• Mark Le Gree (S) in 2011 5th round;
• Jeremy Lane (CB) in 2012 6th round;
• Jared Smith (DT) in 2013 7th round;
• Tye Smith (CB) in 2015 5th round;

Zabel is the first first-round pick by Seattle history since Southern Illinois’ Terry Taylor in 1984 at No. 22 overall.

Who is Grey Zabel?

Zabel was an athlete in several sports before college, including baseball, basketball, and football. He started playing football in third grade, and his brothers were also athletes. In high school, he became a starter on both the offensive and defensive lines as a sophomore (blocking for his older brother who was the quarterback). He earned All-State honors as a junior, was a state champion in 2018, and the following year, as a captain and senior, he again earned All-State honors after winning the 2019 state championship. He also had All-Conference performances in basketball and baseball in high school (leading the baseball team in home runs and RBIs).

Zabel came out of high school without much of a spotlight, being a zero-star prospect, only visiting Iowa as a junior in high school, but leaving without an offer. He had offers from NDSU, SDSU and South Dakota (who also offered him a baseball scholarship). He decided to accept the offer from NDSU where he started 38 games in five seasons, playing left tackle, left guard and right tackle.

He even received good NIL offers to transfer in his senior year. However, he turned them all down and wanted to finish his career with the team that gave him his first opportunity.

Grey Zabel by the numbers

Zabel in 2024:

• 970 snaps;
• 93.1 Pass Block Grade;
• 1 sack allowed;
• 2 QB hits;
• 4 hurries;

Some connections to Seattle

Grey Zabel said he trained this offseason with Abe Lucas at Excel Sports Management. In addition, he played with center Jalen Sundell in college at North Dakota State, who is a good friend.

Senior Bowl Star

It’s common knowledge that the Seahawks like to draft standout players from the Senior Bowl. Zabel was one of the event’s biggest stars. He won the award for best performance in training. He was tireless, had snaps in every position and even dominating the 1v1s, he played a good part of the game, unlike some prospects who prefer to preserve themselves after gaining stock and disrespect the event’s invitation.

Perfect Fit

Pass Protection

Pass protection is not passive. He uses the snatch and trap technique to win the snap. It consists of making the first contact (snatch) to attack the opponent’s balance and then preventing any type of recovery (trap).

He realizes that the EDGE is going to cover the RB in the flat, and is aware of the second-level player who is blitzing. Notice how well he moves without wasting movements.

He moves very well laterally, without seeming to make much effort, great footwork. He stays in front of the defender throughout the no, keeping the QB protected.

Colorado aligns his EDGE very open, in wide-9. Zabel’s positioning is also more open, leaving the interior gap vulnerable. However, with his excellent footwork he covers a lot of space, closes the gap and defends the stunt well.

He analyzes the DT’s threat, returns to the EDGE and has good strength flexibility to anchor against the opponent’s rush.

Run Block

He is an excellent kickout blocker. On a running play, this blocker runs parallel to the line of scrimmage and his job is to prevent the outside edge rusher (usually a DE or OLB) from attacking the interior gap.

As mentioned above, he is very good at kickout blocking. Reach blocking is also one of his specialties. This is because he can come out of the snap well and move laterally. He crosses the opponent and seals the gap to open space for the run.

Good job coming out of the snap, pulling and opening the lane for the run.

He understands the play well before the snap, and already knows his target at the second level. He helps his teammate well in the double-team and advances to get the LB out of the way of his RB.

Seattle should look for players who fit the zone scheme, i.e., more athletic guys. However, even a team that mostly plays zone also calls gap plays. Zabel has a lot of strength and an aggressive mentality to move opponents out of his gap. A well-rounded player in the run blocking department.

In what areas does Grey Zabel need to improve?

If you take out of the equation Zabel’s level of competition at NDSU (FCS), since he stood out “against the best” in the Senior Bowl, and his arm length, since he will be a guard, he has a few issues to adjust to coming into the NFL. His hand placement and some of the angles he takes are not satisfactory.

He takes a bad angle, which, combined with poor contact with poor hand placement, allows the defender to attack the inside gap.

Again, poor hand placement allows the inside gap to be exploited.

Needs to get his hands inside. They can often appear outside the pages and defenders can get away, and he’s on the verge of committing a holding penalty.

He needs to protect his chest more and make contact before opponents do. He only has a 32’’ arm length, so he’ll usually be at a disadvantage and will be harder to recover from if he doesn’t make the first move.

Final Thoughts

Zabel was the best offensive lineman available. His selection allowed the Seahawks to keep their cool for the rest of the draft. He’s an excellent athlete and a great fit for the scheme. You could argue that the Seahawks could have gone BPA (Best Player Available) and selected Malaki Starks, Will Johnson or Jihaad Campbell. However, as stated before, the interior of the offensive line was the team’s biggest need and getting a player of Zabel’s caliber meant that the team didn’t despair and make hits, as in other years.