Schneider called Zabel their “number one interior offensive lineman.”
For the second time in four seasons, the Seattle Seahawks went with an offensive lineman in Round 1 of the NFL Draft. In 2022, the Seahawks selected left tackle Charles Cross with one of the picks they received from the Russell Wilson trade, and now they’ve opened up their 2025 class with North Dakota State lineman Grey Zabel. The plan for Zabel is to be a guard, something the Seahawks desperately need given their huge struggles at the position.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald fielded questions from the media on Thursday night. Here’s a snippet of what they had to say.
Introductory statements
John Schneider: “So, exciting night. We were able to land our number one interior offensive linemen, Grey Zabel. I believe it’s the highest player we picked, interior player we picked, since [Steve Hutchinson], which was cool. I was able to be part of that with coach Holmgren, Ted [Thompson], Scot [McCloughan], and that crew. It’s pretty fun. Hutch loves him. Everybody loves this guy. He’s just buttoned up, tough, smart, reliable, our kind of guy. Really our first exposure was at the Senior Bowl when he had a great week down there. We felt like 18 to where we were, it was like a sweet spot for the interior offensive line. [Tyler] Booker went 10 or 12. But yeah, just really excited.
Mike Macdonald: “Echo everything John said. Kind of been on my radar since the Senior Bowl. The exposure, that’s when we get introduced to the whole process. Just really excited to add him to the crew, get to know him more. He smashed the process. Everybody was really excited. Just really excited for him to come in tomorrow and get rolling.
The decision to take an FCS player so high
Schneider: Trent [Kirchner] was showing me a picture of 2022, their national championship team. All five of those guys are playing in the National Football League. They’re coached really well. It’s a great program. Great offensive line coach. You can tell when guys are coached up, taught well. That’s one of them, regardless of the level. But yeah, offensive linemen for sure. You’re going all over. They come in all shapes and sizes. You have to find the competitors, regardless of the level of competition.
Grey Zabel’s schematic fit in the outside zone
Macdonald: I like how he finishes the blocks, then finding his targets down the field in space. He’s a really great athlete, how he moves. It’s easy to overlook pass protection when you talk wide zone all the time. You can argue that’s really where it starts in the evaluation process. Hard to find a rep that he had a hard time winning down in Mobile. He took a lot of them.
What Steve Hutchinson told John Schneider about Zabel
Schneider: “Just the person, the competitor he’s going to bring to the room. He’s a little throwback, rocking the (mustache). I’m not sure if he’s still rocking it. Everybody just did a great job with the interviews and Zoom process with him, too. All the interviews, he just exudes this really cool, confidence, toughness. Like I said, smart, tough, reliable guy. 35 starts, they play good ball, man. That’s a really good program.”
Offensive line coach John Benton’s role in the selection process
Macdonald: “Whole offensive staff. As much as J.B. can jump right now where he’s at, he was doing it. Really excited. The guys are really excited.”
It’s not brought up very often, but Schneider was with the Seahawks as Director of player personnel in the 2000 season and didn’t take his VP of player personnel position with Washington until May 2001, after the draft in which Hutchinson was selected. Schneider was involved in the draft process for one of the greatest offensive linemen in Seahawks history.
Watch the full press conference video below!