The Seattle Seahawks freed up a ton of cap room by turning over their QB/WR dynamic. By cutting Tyler Lockett and trading Geno Smith and DK Metcalf they saved nearly $60 million in salary cap space for the 2025 season. Even after signing Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp they had more than enough room to make some splash deals.
That gave Seattle's front office plenty of ammunition to address their most-pressing roster need: that being their long-terrible offensive line. In a completely unsurprising turn, the Seahawks have elected to completely ignore that unit, with the one small exception being a cheap backup OT on a one-year deal.
Supposedly the front office has taken a few swings, but so far every single guard and center they have shown interest in has decided to sign with another team. At this point all the real upgrades are off the market, and the Seahawks have little choice but to address this dire need in the draft.
With that in mind, a new mock draft from The Athletic has them taking NDSU offensive lineman Grey Zabel with the 18th overall pick.
"This might be the most need-versus-best-player-available battle in the first round. Boldly signing quarterback Sam Darnold raises the offense's ceiling, but only if the Seahawks' pass blocking improves. This might be Zabel's draft peak. The powerful lineman can play everywhere. Seattle needs him at guard."
Zabel (6-foot-6, 312 pounds) was named the practice player of the week at the Senior Bowl, where the Seahawks have always shown a ton of interest.
During his run with the Bisons, Zabel lined up all over the place, including over 1,000 snaps at right tackle, almost 1,000 more at left tackle, a few hundred at left guard and even a handful at center and right guard.
For what it's worth Pro Football Focus gave Zabel a superb 90.4 overall rating for the 2024 season, including 86.4 in run blocking and 93.1 in pass blocking, which would be the best in the nation among offensive tackles.
The scouting report on Zabel mentions impressive pad level for his size, fluid movement and lower-half mobility as positives. A lack of arm length (32") is among the negatives. Here's a look at the highlights.
Grey Zabel NDSU highlights
Zabel would likely project as a left guard, where there's practically no competition to start in the absence of Laken Tomlinson, who's now a free agent.
