Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks spent the past two drafts beefing up their talent in the trenches. In 2024 and ‘25, they went big man early, taking a lineman with their first pick in the draft. Defensive man Byron Murphy is off to a stellar start to his second season, and rookie Grey Zabel is following suit in his rookie season at guard.
In fact, NFL.com has placed Zabel as one of the ten best rookies in the early days of the season.
Seventh overall, to be precise.
Zabel’s transition from FCS tackle to NFL guard has been seamless. For clarity’s sake, the North Dakota State product did spend some time on the interior during the first few years of his college tenure, and he looks quite comfortable there now. Four games and 240 snaps into his professional career, Zabel has yet to commit a penalty or allow a sack. In fact, according to Next Gen Stats, he didn’t give up a single QB pressure until Week 4, when he yielded one on 29 pass-blocking snaps.
Taken with the 16th overall pick, Zabel is outperforming earlier draft picks such as Will Campbell, Mason Graham, Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter.
Nate Tice with Yahoo Sports went a step further, claiming Zabel as the most impressive rookie to him thus far.
The early returns are undeniable: Zabel has been an absolute stonewall in pass protection, and the team’s had better odds running behind him. Last week was the first pressure he’d allowed all season, and he’s yet to commit a penalty.
It’s good to be good up front, and one would imagine GM John Schneider feels a sense of relief after spending his highest ever pick on a guard.
