RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Gray Zabel makes use of three phrases to put out his priorities.
Household. Soccer. Farming.
The Pierre, South Dakota, native grew up on a household farm, which instilled within the burly offensive lineman classes and abilities that transferred to the soccer subject.
“Working at the farm, it’s kind of understanding that farming and football have a lot in common,” Zabel mentioned. “You plant a seed in the dirt in the spring and tend to it and try and give it as much as you can to grow a great crop in the fall, and football’s the exact same way. You work all offseason to get your body strong, healthy and you reap the benefits in the fall.”
The Seahawks equally hope their prime spring choice will result in a fruitful fall and past. They chose Zabel, a guard out of North Dakota State, with the 18th general decide within the NFL draft on Thursday evening.
Zabel as an alternative stayed put and was an FCS All-American at left sort out final season.
“There were some offers that kind of made me scratch my head,” Zabel mentioned. “My head coach always calls me stupid for not taking the money. But at the end of the day, I think it paid off pretty well.”
The Seahawks, in the meantime, are optimistic that Zabel will be a part of the answer for an offensive line that struggled in 2024. Final season, the Seahawks yielded 54 sacks, tied for third-most within the NFL. The Seahawks, who went 10-7 final season and gained the NFC West, ran the overwhelming majority of their performs out of the shotgun formation.
Previous to deciding on Zabel, the Seahawks hadn’t extensively addressed their offensive line woes through free company exterior of signing journeyman sort out Josh Jones. Zabel, who mentioned he assumes he’ll play on the inside of the offensive line, might rapidly change Seattle’s beginning left guard from final season, Laken Tomlinson, who’s now a member of the Houston Texans.
Although Zabel performed left sort out final yr, he first performed guard as a freshman. He believes that early expertise on the inside ought to pay dividends.
“The type of style that I play is quick,” Zabel mentioned. “Trying to use my athletic ability and my benefits and basically, at the end of the day, it’s all mentality playing offensive line.”
Ought to the athletic and versatile Zabel stay as much as his potential, he would show an impactful addition contemplating the Seahawks have a brand new quarterback. Conserving Sam Darnold upright after he was signed this offseason to a three-year, $100.5 million deal will probably be a precedence for Seattle, which traded away incumbent starter Geno Smith.
The franchise took a step towards doing so in drafting Zabel, who anticipated to have a good time being drafted with a beer.
“I’m probably going to start diving into these Busch Light’s and celebrating. Have the 12-hour rule, you get to celebrate it for 12 hours and then you get back to work,” Zabel mentioned.
