2025 NFL Draft: What Grey Zabel Would Bring to Chiefs

The Kanasa City Chiefs have been afforded the opportunity to go into the NFL Draft and select their subjective "best-player-available" with the No. 31 overall selection.

Their free agency has been solid with acquisitions and re-signings at key positions that lessen their need for a specific role as they look to return to their fourth consecutive Super Bowl.

Along the left side of their offensive line, issues may arise. Despite signing left tackle Jaylon Moore and moving Kingsley Suamataia to left guard, both positions are in need of competition and potentially an upgrade at either spot. It would be hard to imagine them not adding more talent to those positions, including left guard.

North Dakota State interior offensive lineman Grey Zabel offers the Chiefs a chance to give their former second-round selection some heat at guard.

Zabel is an accomplished lineman from the Bisons, winning two national championships in the Football Championship Series (FCS) with two first-team FCS All-American and Mountain Valley Football Conference nods. The fifth-year senior has started 41 games across five seasons in college football with starts across the offensive line.

Let's look closer to see what Zabel should bring to the table at the next level.

Strengths

One of the most fun players to watch on tape in this draft class, Zabel is a mauler and outright competitive to the point where he will drive defenders downfield beyond the whistle or into the ground. He's a player that consistently keeps his legs churning at the point of attack when tasked with gap or zone-blocking concepts.

Zabel plays with a nasty attitude that allows him to create displacement in the trenches and open up creases in the run game. He offers enough mobility to successfully work to the second level while maintaining balance and body control. He is a player that will compete in a phone booth and never let down.

In pass protection, he offers an impressive anchor at the point and sufficient mirroring ability in his sets. There is a lot to like when taking on pass rushers with flashes of independent hands and reactions to stimuli at the point.

Weaknesses

Zabel played left tackle last season for the Bison but showed why he is likely to be a full-time interior player at the next level. He has struggles with speed rushers on the edge and his movement skills, while sufficient, are not elite. He seems to have better success in tight spaces that allow him to control the point of attack.

The former unranked recruit also lacks elite length and overall quickness to handle long, explosive, and sometimes powerful pass rushers. Zabel's hand placement and strikes are also inconsistent and because he lacks elite functional athleticism, he may latch on to defenders longer than the margin for error allows, creating issues in his discipline and penalties committed.

Zabel's Fit at the Next Level

Unlike a lot of the successful offensive tackle prospects in this year's class with sufficient arm length, Zabel is the case where he will have to play guard at the next level for him to find success. He projects as a starting left or right guard with some possible spot-starter ability at center while having a fit in most blocking schemes.

Zabel is the perfect fit for the Chiefs if he were to be the selection in the first or second round. This is a player that would bring a mean streak into the trenches that features players like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith who possess that mental and physical trait.

While he may not start immediately, depending on how Suamataia's progression goes, Zabel would be a quality selection for the franchise regardless.

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