Mike Vorel: Grey Zabel pick a win for the Seahawks … as well as common sense

RENTON, Wash. — For the second consecutive draft, the Seattle Seahawks made sense.

That’s a refreshing shift for a franchise with a reputation for confounding its fans, via first-round reaches for running back Rashaad Penny in 2018 and defensive end L.J. Collier in 2019. The Seahawks have also routinely traded out of the first round, instilling an omnipresent paranoia until the pick is actually in.

But on Thursday, the whole world knew what the Seahawks needed.

Namely, an interior offensive lineman — or two, or three.

They got Grey Zabel.

It was a win for the Seahawks, as well as common sense.

“Teams in the late first round were hoping he would slide through the cracks,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said before the Seahawks’ pick. “He has the versatility to play every position on the offensive line. He practiced at center at the Senior Bowl. I know he could have gone anywhere he wanted [in the transfer portal]. He stayed at North Dakota State, loyal to that program.

“He can play anywhere on that line. He could be a Pro Bowl guard at the pro level.”

Added ESPN’s Louis Riddick: “At guard, he’s plug and play.”

The Seahawks, of course, have holes to plug. Though they finished 10-7 in Mike Macdonald’s debut, a lacking offensive line prevented a postseason trip. They ranked 17th in the NFL in yards per carry (4.2) and 28th in rushing yards per game (95.7), while surrendering the third-most sacks (54) as well. That line was graded 31 st in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. And though starting tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas return, they entered the offseason with obvious interior issues.

The Seahawks also have needs at wide receiver, tight end, defensive line and cornerback.

But you have to heal your Achilles heel.

Zabel should help.

“Everybody loves this guy. He’s just buttoned up, tough, smart, reliable, our kind of guy,” said Seahawks president of football operations and general manager John Schneider, who added that Zabel was the top interior offensive lineman on their board. “Really, our first exposure was at the Senior Bowl, and he had a great week down there.”

It wasn’t his only great week. The 6-foot-6, 316-pounder played every offensive line position in five sparkling seasons at North Dakota State, winning a pair of FCS national championships and starting the final 36 games of his college career. He dominated Power Five defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl and uncorked a 36.5-inch vertical jump at the NFL scouting combine.

The Pierre, S.D., product’s athleticism and movement skills should insert seamlessly into new Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s outside zone running scheme.

“Obviously he’s a really great athlete with how he moves,” Macdonald said. “It’s easy to overlook pass protection when you talk wide zone all the time. But you could argue that’s kind of where it starts in the evaluation process. It was hard to find a rep he had a hard time winning when he was down in Mobile [for the Senior Bowl], and he took a lot of them.”

He’s versatile. He’s reliable. He’s athletic.

He’s thirsty.

(Or, he was on Thursday.)

“I’m probably going to start diving into these Busch Lights,” Zabel admitted in a phone interview with media members, when asked what happens next. “I have the 12-hour rule. We get to celebrate it for 12 hours and then we get back to work.”

That rule also applies to the Seahawks, who enter the second round on Friday with more work to do. Specifically, Schneider and Co. have nine more picks to play with, four of which come in the top 92.

Though eight offensive linemen flew off the board on Thursday, Zabel’s pick shouldn’t be considered a comprehensive fix. The Seahawks may be more confident in their returning talent — centers Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell and guards Sataoa Laumea, Christian Haynes and Anthony Bradford, etc. — than last season’s extensive struggles suggest.

But Schneider’s hand has been forced by a frustrating free agency.

When you miss on Will Fries, and pass on Mekhi Becton, Teven Jenkins, Lucas Patrick and Dillon Radunz … one new name is not enough.

But the Seahawks can’t afford to focus on inferior prospects to satisfy a supposed need. As Schneider said this week: “Sometimes you think you’re just filling a hole and you’re jumping that player ahead of more talented players.”

In the second and third rounds, there will still be talented players aplenty. Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, Marshall edge Mike Green, South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, Boston College edge Donovan Ezeiruaku and Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III — all intriguing talents — remain on the board. Heck, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders tumbled out of the first round entirely.

A year ago, the Seahawks — who ranked 27 th in the NFL in opponent yards per carry (4.6) and 31st in rushing defense (138.4 yards allowed per game) in 2023 — made an equally defensible first impression, nabbing Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy III with the 16th overall pick.

The truth is, one pick doesn’t make a draft.

Still, the Seahawks made sense, and that’s worth celebrating.

But when it comes to Busch Lights, don’t dive and drive.

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