Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks rookie class combined for 160 total snaps in Week 16, a number inflated by the game going to overtime. Once again, the workload was heavily concentrated on Grey Zabel and Nick Emmanwori. Rylie Mills, Robbie Ouzts, and Nick Kallerup saw limited action, combining for just 17 total snaps.
Connor O’Toole was active — somewhat unexpectedly, filling in for Brandon Pili — but only contributed on special teams.
Let’s dive into the tape and break down some of the key rookie performances from this game.
Zabel finished the game allowing four total pressures, matching his season-high previously set against the Steelers and Colts. He also surrendered his first two sacks of the season, both coming on very similar concepts.
Despite the sacks, this was still a game I largely liked from Zabel. If sacks weigh heavily in your grading, this may look rougher on paper, but when you isolate the tape, his best reps were very good and legitimately encouraging.
Let’s start with the negative reps.
On the first sack, the Seahawks are running a half-slide protection — zone to the right, man to the left. This protection limits the need to process stunts but puts a heavy burden on the offensive linemen to defend inside, outside, and through simultaneously.
Kobie Turner (#91) threatens inside, and Zabel responds quickly with excellent footwork. However, after a swipe move to Zabel’s outside hand, Zabel leans too far forward, compromising his balance. That forward lean opens the door for a swim move, which Turner executes cleanly for the sack.
The second sack, again against Turner, comes from a different issue. Zabel appears more cautious, caught between protecting inside or outside leverage. He loses initial contact, continues battling (this was not a quick loss), but ultimately gets beaten. A wider lateral step to stay square to the defensive tackle likely prevents the sack. While Zabel’s footwork is generally one of his strengths, these reps show that when he has to rebuild his base, his feet aren’t always as quick as they usually are. That’s a correctable issue — and one he already has the tools to fix.
Now for the positives.
Zabel’s start to the game was dominant. This is a beautifully designed call from Klint Kubiak. The play initially sells wide zone, but it’s actually play-action. The goal is to stretch the defense horizontally and open space for routes coming back across the formation. Defenses naturally overreact to the flow.
Instead, Kubiak dials up a screen to Ken Walker. With the defense fully committed to the right side, the left side becomes wide open. Josh Jones, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, and Anthony Bradford pull into space against just two first-level defenders. Jones and Bradford create the initial lane, while Sundell and Zabel climb. Zabel flashes his athleticism as a lead blocker, finishing with a fundamentally sound block that springs Walker for an additional 15 yards.
Two snaps later, Zabel executes a key...
