Grey Zabel, the Seattle Seahawks' first-round pick this offseason at No. 18 overall, has made it through his first organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. Even with that evaluation period, the team still knows very little about how he will look when the real competition begins.
All offseason programs before training camp are non-contact, which makes it difficult to evaluate the offensive and defensive line. With no pads, those position groups are mostly going through the motions of learning the new scheme, building endurance through drills and sharpening technique. Still, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is impressed with what they've seen from Zabel thus far.
"Really excited about Grey," Macdonald said after practice on June 11. "He’s what we thought he was up to this point, I mean, he’s going to be that … [He has a] certain intentionality, going through the drills, hitting his spots, communicating, being decisive with Charles [Cross] on the left side. I think those guys are working really well together, so really fired up to see him in the Fall — the great competition, the one-on-ones, getting the pads on, it’s going to be a lot of fun to [see] him compete with the D-line."
Zabel is expected to be the immediate starter next to left tackle Charles Cross, who was also a first-round pick (No. 9 overall) in 2022. He is also expected to be a huge upgrade over Laken Tomlinson, who started all 17 games for the Seahawks last season.
Macdonald admitted there's a lot they can't evaluate now, but added he's excited to see Zabel when the pads come on in July. At that point, it'll become much clearer where Zabel is in his development against NFL defensive linemen. The coaching staff will also get a much better look at the rest of the offensive line amid position battles at center and right guard.
“You want growth every day, you want the guys having the right mindset, finishing plays the right way. You can’t do it physically, but you can chase the ball, you can run out of the stack, you can take the line of scrimmage, so right now is good. I think it’s something that we’re still chasing — I’d say very good — but we’ll see. There’s a lot of competition; we haven’t settled some of the spots, and that means we have a lot of guys that are options. So, that’s exciting.”
The Seahawks begin training camp on July 23 after an extended summer break. Macdonald ended organized team activities and mandatory minicamp early on June 11 after a high-attendance start to the offseason.
