The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2026 season with the same offensive line as last season, and that edition was arguably the best O-line in the Pacific Northwest in many years. It was buoyed by rookie Grey Zabel playing well at left guard, and the expectation is that he would only improve.
That might still happen, but through five games of this season, that hasn't happened. In fact, Zabel has been less efficient than he was in his first year, and two of his last three games have been especially brutal. Have opponents figured out a weakness of his? Maybe because he suddenly is the worst-performing offensive lineman on Seattle's front five.
In Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, Zabel allowed four quarterback pressures, all hurries. The run game has been iffy all season, and the left side of the line has been part of the issue. That starts with Zabel.
Grey Zabel suddenly struggling for the Seattle Seahawks
Against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5, Zabel allowed four pressures again, but this time one of the pressures was a sack. The left guard is trending toward allowing many more pressures and sacks than he did as a rookie.
While he did allow four pressures in three games last season (and five in the Super Bowl), he only allowed four pressures in a game once through Week 14 last year. He's doubled that this season. He also gave up just two sacks all of last season, and those came in one game (Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams).
Seahawks fans probably rightfully thought that if the offensive line had an issue this season, it would be at right guard. Longtime starter Anthony Bradford has struggled for years and was entering the last season of his rookie contract. Bradford, though, was injured in Week 1, and in his absence, have been Christian Haynes and rookie Beau Stephens.
Haynes and Stephens have combined to play better overall at right guard than Zabel has at left guard. In Week 5, the right guard spot allowed just one pressure. In Week 3, Haynes and Stephens allowed zero pressures. Week 4 was a struggle for Haynes, but right guard has still been better than left guard this season.
Should there be a great concern about Grey Zabel? Not yet. He showed as a rookie that he has the ability to play well at his position, and maybe he is still getting used to the slightly changed blocking scheme under new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury.
Perhaps a positive exists. Zabel is likely to rebound into good form for the Seattle Seahawks, while right guard could be better in the future, especially if Beau Stephens earns the spot this season and stays there for several more years. But Zabel does need to begin playing better quickly because next for Seattle is the Denver Broncos, and they are excellent defensively.
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