The Seahawks got it right.
Having been so patient during free agency, now was the time to strike. They had to reinforce their offensive line after so much good work on the defensive side of the ball over the last couple of years.
Grey Zabel is the kind of player fans have complained about in the past when they haven’t been drafted by the Seahawks. This isn’t another Cam Jurgens, Creed Humphrey, Landon Dickerson, Joel Bitonio, Quinn Meinerz, Erik McCoy moment.
Zabel has everything you look for. He’s an elite athlete. Jumping a 36.5 inch vertical at 315lbs isn’t normal. His explosive testing mark was a 3.25 — the exact same as Kansas City’s Humphrey. Nearly all of the best offensive linemen in the league are explosive testers and Zabel ticks that box.
This shows he has the upside to be great. I’d also say he has a base level of performance expectation that means he’s unlikely to bust. He just does everything well for the zone-blocking scheme. He combo blocks superbly, he can pull with ease, he reaches up to the second level and finds targets. He’s a legit finisher who plays with violence.
This is the kind of player who excels in the NFL.
The selection of Zabel now opens everything else up in the draft. They can attack the next six rounds and target the best players on their board without any O-line sized doubts lingering in the background.
They could still add another offensive lineman. I said after the combine that the best way to create an Eagles-style interior would be to pair Zabel with Tate Ratledge. Jared Wilson also makes sense at center. Elijah Arroyo and Mason Taylor are still available. Pass rushers like Donovan Ezeiruaku, Bradyn Swinson and JT Tuimoloau stand out, while there’s talent at cornerback in Will Johnson, Shavon Revel Jr, Benjamin Morrison and Azareye’h Thomas. At receiver, Luther Burden, Jack Bech and Jayden Higgins remain available and there are good options stretching into day three.
I’m not sure Mike Green or Nick Emmanwori will be on their radar due to reported character concerns but I suppose there may come a time on day two where the value is worth rolling the dice.
There’s also the question of a quarterback. Was Adam Schefter steering us in the right direction by hinting a round two selection was possible?
This couldn’t have gone any better for Seattle. When I did this video in February discussing Zabel as the best option in round one for the Seahawks, it was with this day in mind. As you can see here in this tweet, he’s a player who’s been on our radar for a long time.
I’m also happy to report I finished joint 24th in Huddle Report scoring for my mock draft. Given how unpredictable the first round was, I’m delighted with that. To finish 24th in the world justifies a lot of the work we’ve done since the summer trying to find the right evaluation for these players.
Join us tomorrow for more coverage — we’ll have so much content both on the blog and on the YouTube channel.
