Seattle Seahawks select Grey Zabel in first round round of 2025 NFL Draft

The Seattle Seahawks have selected former North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. After a prolific career at the collegiate level, he’s not set to take the next step up to the NFL.

Zabel began rising up draft boards after his strong appearance at the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl in February. He followed that up by impressing scouts at the NFL Combine later that month. Zabel ranked first among offensive linemen with a 36.5-inch vertical jump. He also ranked in the top 10 in broad jump, as well as bench press with 26 reps of 225 pounds.

The 6 foot 6, 312-pounder is the perfect size for an NFL guard, and proved that he’s not only explosive but also versatile along the offensive front. During his time in college, he played in four different positions on the OL.

In 2024, he allowed just one sack and four pressures across 16 starts at left tackle, grading 90.4 overall by Pro Football Focus. He started 17 games at right tackle, and four at left guard across the past three seasons.

NFL Draft analyst Chad Reuter revealed that Grey turned down significant NIL offers from other schools last offseason so he could play on North Dakota State in 2024 with his brother, Jett.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Grey Zabel

Now that Grey Zabel has been drafted, fans may be wondering what to expect from their new offensive lineman. NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein provided his analysis of the versatile big man.

Zierlein: “Tough-guy profile on this prospect coming out of North Dakota State. Zabel has an NFL frame with room for additional mass and possesses a good starting point in terms of his play strength. He has to play with really quick hands and good feet in order to compensate for short arms that make sustaining blocks and controlling pass rushers more challenging. Teams might ask Zabel to snap during draft season in order to project positional flexibility.”

Zierlein cites some of Zabel’s strengths as his ability to unlock his hips and ankles and set a sudden anchor, makes a point to get body on body to seal blocks as well as having upper-and and lower-body power to generate movement at the point. For weaknesses, he has a tendency to grab defenders instead of punch them in pass protection and his shorter arms create difficulties in sustaining blocks.