Seahawks President Of Football Ops/GM John Schneider: 'Welcome To Grey Zabel Day'

"Quick, surreal, whirlwind of emotion, super fun," is how Grey Zabel, Seattle's first-round pick described the past few days since hearing his name called at the Draft.

"It's a lifelong dream to be able to say you got drafted, let alone be drafted to the Seattle Seahawks, so what a surreal experience this past week has been."

Zabel and president of football operations and general manager John Schneider posed for a photo op before the press conference, while Zabel held a No. 76 jersey, the same jersey number that Hall of Famer and Seahawks Legend Steve Hutchinson wore.

"That was kind of the equipment staff's idea," Zabel said. "I had to ask Hutch if it was OK to wear it and he was all for it and super excited for it. No better number to wear in Seattle history."

It's been a week since the Seahawks selected Zabel in the first round and he's had a busy week with equipment fittings, meeting the other rookies and preparing for rookie minicamp on Friday and Saturday.

"Still hasn't sunk in yet," Zabel said. "I got to wake up and pinch myself every single morning that I get to play for the Seattle Seahawks. It probably never will sink in."

And the newness of the entire experience will continue Friday when Zabel gears up forrookie minicamp practice.

"It's going to be surreal. To wear the Seahawk logo on your chest has been kind of a dream. Super excited and anytime you get to tie the cleats up and hit the grass, you got to be grateful. It's a "get to" mentality, not a "have to" mentality. So, I get to go to practice tomorrow and show up to one of the best jobs you can possibly have."

That same mentality is what caught Schneider's eye during the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama in February.

"Being there at the Senior Bowl and watching him steal reps from people… He couldn't wait," Schneider said. "He was taking reps at center, left guard, right guard. He was taking reps from people. I think just seeing the competitor and the want to. Like he said, 'chip on his shoulder.' Ready let it rip. He was into it, he was competing his tail off and it was really impressive to see first-hand and be right there."

Schneider added later the players from North Dakota State, "come out of there very well coached, they're highly competitive, smart and there's a lot of "want to" there, and those are great traits."

While Zabel's NFL journey is just starting, so far he's learned to, "Just continue to bet on yourself. Outwork everybody and kind of have that chip on the shoulder mentality throughout the entire process. Hard work and dedication to your craft can take you a long way."

And maybe talk some trash along the way too.

"Offensive line, you can't score, you can't catch a pass, you can't do any of that," he said. "So, when you block a guy extremely well, sometimes you got to let him know. I think that's the fun and joy of playing offensive line, but at the same time you gotta stay humble in your ability."

Although he's humble, Zabel's five years of experience at North Dakota State have given him valuable insight on how to be a good, and successful leader on an offensive line that will help him in the NFL.

"Sweat equity is number one. You never want to ask somebody to do something you aren't willing to do or have done. So I think in the offensive line room, sweat equity plays a huge role in leadership and understanding you got to put in the work, put in the time to be able to lead. And then understanding that you're blocking for somebody else, you're protecting somebody else and the highest level you can do that at is making sure nobody touches the other guy."