The 2025 NFL combine is in the books and in this final review article I wanted to cover three topics:
— The offensive linemen I think best fit the Seahawks
— The growing buzz around the quarterback class
— What I think will happen this week with Geno Smith
The linemen I want in Seattle
We’ve all heard enough about the type of team the Seahawks say they want to be. It’s time to deliver. If you want to be horrible to play against, dominant in the run game and carry a nasty personality through the attitude and grit of your offensive line, you have to make it happen. With the exception of Abe Lucas, the Seahawks have not drafted or signed players who fit the persona they say they want to have.
That’s the first thing I’m looking for. The second thing is fit in the zone blocking scheme in terms of grading and athletic testing.
The two best fits, I believe, are North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel and Georgia’s Tate Ratledge. They tick every box. So much so, I would happily draft one to play left guard and the other to play right guard while plonking grizzled veteran Ryan Kelly in between them for the sake of experience and leadership. That’s the kind of horrible bastard offensive line this team hasn’t had in a long, long time yet constantly says it wants.
Zabel has been a blog favourite for months. His tape is excellent, showing a player perfectly suited for the zone system. He reaches to the second level easily. He’s extremely comfortable blocking in space. He combo blocks well. He can pull naturally. He has a natural feel for the scheme, like knowing when to shove a defensive lineman out of the way when the play flows to his side, creating a running lane.
His PFF grade in zone last season was a tremendous 84.8. Today, he jumped a sensational 36.5-inch vertical. Only two offensive linemen have jumped a better vertical since combine records were first collected in 2003. It’s the same effort as Tampa Bay’s star lineman Tristan Wirfs. He added a 9-3 broad jump.
On the field he had a superb mirror drill, getting good lateral range while changing direction easily for his size. He also finished things off with a superb screen drill.
Zabel didn’t run a forty or do agility testing. We need a 10-yard split and a short shuttle to truly grasp his upside within the zone scheme. However, the tape is just so good when he runs zone that it almost feels like an unnecessary data point. He’s nearly 6-6 so he’s not a center, as some are suggesting. I think playing him in that position will remove a lot of the better aspects of his game if he’s forced to snap and play front-on instead of in space or on the move. During drills he looked the part of a top-end guard. The kind of player we see drafted by the Eagles frequently and go on to predictably succeed.
Then there’s Tate Ratledge. He’s well known for his tone-setting playing style at Georgia and although he didn’t play his best ball in 2024 after returning from injury, he still managed a 71.4 grade in zone. Considering he was way off 100%, it’s acceptable. It’s even more acceptable when you consider his testing numbers today. He didn’t run a short shuttle but he did run a three-cone, recording a brilliant 7.38. It’s the 11th best time by an offensive lineman since 2003 and level with former first round pick Zion Johnson. He’s also highly explosive, jumping a 32-inch vertical and a 9-5 broad.
During drills he excelled, showing sharp, sudden movements and change of direction. He moved very easily out of his transition on pull drills — a critical test for zone blocking. For a pure guard, his pass-rush set and drop was really good too.
As with Zabel, it struck me while watching him — this is exactly the type of player who goes to Philadelphia and ends up being the next Landon Dickerson or Cam Jurgens. Both Zabel and Ratledge are in that bracket. They’re a pair of mullet and moustache wearing nasty bastards with outstanding physical profiles and huge upside to match an aggressive brand of football.
I think it’s unlikely the Seahawks would spend their first two picks on both players. The 18th pick might be too high for Zabel based on grading and #50 might be too low for Ratledge. However, I would have no problem at all if it transpired they used their top two picks on them. Seattle’s offensive line needs a transformational off-season. They perfectly fit the brand of football they want to play — schematically and tonally.
If you have an opportunity to draft a player like Jahdae Barron, Jihaad Campbell, Jalon Walker or Will Johnson in round one — maybe it’s too good an opportunity to pass? I’m not convinced taking a red-raw pass-rusher (Shemar Stewart), a very athletic safety (Nick Emmanwori), another defensive tackle (Kenneth Grant) or another receiver (take your pick) moves the needle much or makes you the team you claim to want to be. Actually building a quality offensive line will achieve this.
Yes, it would create a very young O-line. That’s why I would sign Ryan Kelly to play between them. He’s cut from the same cloth in terms of playing style and could guide them through their rookie seasons.
Would it be overkill? Maybe. Perhaps that’s what they need? Do you want to fix the O-line or not? Is investing a ton of faith in Christian Haynes working out a wise idea? And let’s be right here, look at Haynes’ body type and compare it to Zabel and Ratledge. You aren’t winning any games getting off the bus with Haynes. You are with Zabel and Ratledge, who embody the spirit of Steve Hutchinson — even if they never match his incredible career.
It’s been far too long since the Seahawks had a physically imposing O-line dictating terms to the opponent. I believe these two players can help get you there. I’m intrigued by this, even if it means manipulating the board a bit to move around and get the value needed. I don’t think anyone would regret it if, in a few years, they do what Dickerson and Jurgens have done and produce the interior foundation for the best O-line in the NFL.
Who else stood out among the O-liners?
Armand Membou had a very good testing and drill session. He’s an excellent zone blocker. His body type is not conventional and I think he’s limited to guard rather than tackle, unlike some. There’s no doubt he would also fit in terms of scheme and playing style/aggression. I suspect after today he will likely be drafted between picks #10-16 and won’t be available to Seattle.
I fully expected to be highly disappointed by Tyler Booker’s on-field drills after a horrible set of tests. To Booker’s credit, he didn’t hide — doing everything at the combine including the forty, a full set of jumps and the agility testing. So many players duck out if they know they won’t put up great numbers. Booker’s message was a legit ‘IDNGAF’ as he went out there and produced a series of non-impressive results.
However, much to my surprise (even as a big fan of his tape), I thought Booker was superb during drills and moved with a mobility and freedom belying his testing. I do think he can play in zone based on the Alabama film and the way he moved during drills. A quick reminder too — some of the best linemen in the NFL were not great testers. Are we really going to say he lacks explosive power after a 7-10 broad jump when the tape is full of examples of him blowing defenders off the line? Or that his near-two-second 10-yard split means he can’t run into space and reach up to the second level, as he did many times for the Crimson Tide?
Finally, Jared Wilson the Georgia center also performed incredibly well as a tester and during drills. He’s very explosive (32-inch vertical, 9-4 broad jump). He ran the best ever forty by a center (4.84) — easily eclipsing Erik McCoy’s 4.89 and besting Jason Kelce’s 4.92. He also defeated McCoy’s short shuttle (4.52 vs 4.62). Remember, McCoy excelled for Klint Kubiak in New Orleans. If the Seahawks want to take a center at #50, Wilson has the physical tools and the zone blocking grade (78.9) to justify it.
The growing buzz around the quarterback class
In the last 24 hours I’ve seen it suggested that while Shedeur Sanders might’ve turned teams off in recent weeks, the rest of the class are leaving an impression.
Todd McShay mentioned on Saturday that some teams rate Will Howard very highly, despite a so-so throwing session in Indianapolis. A reminder that I spoke to a very good source about Howard who suggested his football IQ is off the charts and that he’s the most NFL ready QB in this draft.
There’s a growing positivity about Quinn Ewers after he weighed and measured well and put on a very natural throwing session. Although the online sphere is not high on Ewers, I do believe some teams will have a different view on him. I don’t think it’s beyond the realms of possibility some will see him as a second round option, where the pressure and risk factor is reduced. Remember, this is a player who once received perfect recruiting grades — an honour typically reserved for players like Jadeveon Clowney. It’s very easy to imagine a GM taking a chance on developing and harnessing the talent that once made Ewers so highly rated. Heck, Christian Hackenburg — another once highly regarded recruit — went in round two and he’s not close to what Ewers is as a prospect.
Tyler Shough had a very impressive throwing session and I was blown away by his interview for the Ringer with McShay. Shough has a brilliant attitude, is very technically savvy, he’s immensely likeable and down-to-earth and he’s a competitor. He has great size, a live arm and he’s well equipped to enter the league and not be overawed. It will not be a shock if he goes early on day two.
Jaxson Dart has long been viewed as a viable high-ish pick and Riley Leonard should also be rising after a great combine, excellent playoff run and he too has an incredibly driven, mature, down-to-earth, likeable personality.
All of these players — and possibly Sanders too — could be clumped together. We might see a run on the position on day two. This is a draft where the grades from pick #20 to about pick #60 will be very similar. In that scenario, if you have to choose between a flawed quarterback and a flawed corner, receiver or lineman — if you need a QB, you’ll be inclined to take a chance on the signal caller.
Let’s not forget — we had a run a year ago with six of the top-12 picks being quarterbacks. We might see something similar just a little bit later on — potentially starting at #21 with the Steelers or #26 the Rams and going well into the second round.
This could also play into Seattle’s thinking. If there’s a quarterback they really want to take after waiting patiently for so long to take one — how do they approach the situation if they anticipate they’ll come off the board? My guess is if they were willing to be patient for Russell Wilson in 2012 despite rating him so highly, they’ll be patient again. It’s something to think about, though.
What I think will happen this week with Geno Smith
There’s no buzz about Smith or the Seahawks coming out of the combine, despite numerous other reports about various quarterbacks over the last few days. Given the two parties met on Friday, the silence suggests to me a deal is close. If they were far apart, I think it would’ve been made known by now — especially if Smith’s intention is to try and ramp up talks.
The Seahawks clearly don’t want to start scouring the market for a new bridge. And let’s be right, that is what Smith is. A bridge to what’s next and a very reasonable one at that. He turns 35 this year and finding a compromise agreement always made sense for both parties.
My guess is they will reach agreement this week, possibly in the next 72 hours. They’ll be able to lower Smith’s cap-hit, put more money in his pocket this year and retain the ability to move on from next year and do Smith a solid if they find a longer-term solution in the draft.
That move, along with the likely departure of Tyler Lockett, Roy Robertson-Harris and Rayshawn Jenkins, will give the Seahawks some cap space to use in free agency. They will also no doubt have big decisions to make on Uchenna Nwosu (who they’ll want to retain) and Dre’Mont Jones (who they might feel obliged to keep for one more year, despite his horrible contract).
ESPN reported earlier that the Seahawks are ‘lurking’ in the free agent O-line market, with Drew Dalman, Will Fries and Aaron Banks listed as potential targets for Seattle and three other teams (Chicago, Arizona and the New York Giants). Dalman is expected to receive an eye-watering salary to rival — if not top — Creed Humphrey’s paycheque. The same report suggested Atlanta has given up hope of trying to keep him. I don’t mind paying a lot for a legit top-five center in Dalman but I really don’t want to pay major money for Banks (who struggled in San Francisco) or Fries (coming off a bad injury).
If you missed our live-stream earlier discussing the O-line drills in full detail, check it out below. I will post a new mock draft and a new horizontal board post-combine tomorrow.
