The Seattle Seahawks did a shocking thing in the 2025 NFL draft. General manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald decided to choose an interior offensive lineman first. This had not happened in the Schneider era, which started in 2010, but likely should have.
Even more, Seattle took a chance on a player who was brilliant in offseason all-star sessions, but played at the smaller North Dakota State. As it turns out, left guard Grey Zabel was worth the risk. Even at the beginning of his career, he has been excellent.
In fact, not until Week 4 did Zabel allow a quarterback pressure. He wasn't just good compared to other rookies, but he was the only offensive lineman in the entire NFL to have played at least 25 pass-block snaps through Week 3 and not allow a quarterback pressure, according to Next Gen Stats.
Seattle Seahawks rookie Grey Zabel finally makes a mistake in Week 4
It should be noted that Pro Football Focus (subscription required) did not have the same statistics as they have credited Zabel with eight pressures through Week 4. To stay positive here, we will choose to trust Next Gen Stats a bit more.
Every reputable site has Zabel listed with no sacks allowed, though. In other words, even if he has allowed a pressure, he hasn't let his defender get home on quarterback Sam Darnold. The rookie had also not been penalized, and one might expect a first-year player to make some mistakes in that way. Zabel hasn't.
One aspect where the rookie does need to improve is in run-blocking. But to be fair to him and not single him out, every Seahawks offensive lineman could get better in that area. The team has stayed with running the ball at times, even when no yards are being gained.
Maybe this is just the group acclimating to playing in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's system, and that will get better as the season grows old. One can certainly assume that Grey Zabel will get better in that area because he is already better than expected in terms of pass protection.
Once the team's offensive line builds more cohesion (there are two new pieces this season), hopefully the run blocking with improve. There should be no doubt that Zabel will help lead that improvement. In other words, the Seattle Seahawks' O-line is in good shape for a long time to come.