Top OL Prospect Loves the Raiders Mentality

North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel is one of the best prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft and a fast-rising name. He just praised the Las Vegas Raiders at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.

Jan 30, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; National team offensive lineman Grey Zabel of North Dakota State (77) and National team offensive lineman Caleb Rogers of Texas Tech (76) battle with National team defensive lineman Ty Robinson of Nebraska (94) during Senior Bowl practice for the National team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Las Vegas Raiders have a plethora of needs and while the offensive line is not a weakness, it could stand to get a boost from the 2025 NFL Draft.

With the sixth-overall pick, the Las Vegas Raiders might be in the market for one of the big nasties, despite all of the Shedeur Sanders and Ashton Jeanty talk. If that is the case, perhaps no name has been hotter than that of FCS North Dakota State's Grey Zabel.

Zabel, 6-foot-5 and 316 pounds, has played four of the five offensive line positions at the college level and a standout showing at the Senior Bowl catapulted him up draft boards. The Raiders, with their top-10 pick, are interested.

At the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Zabel said he met with the Raiders; the meeting went well between the two parties, and Zabel praised new coach Pete Carroll and his staff.

"I would just say that the big thing that stood out with the Raiders is kinda the fresh blood in the program, the new coaching staff," said Zabel. "And their passion that they have for football. I mean, they want to win right away, and that was very evident in that meeting. Being able to meet with those guys was a surreal experience, and to especially get to know as much about football from them, because they have a lot of years of knowledge in that coaching staff and just, trying to be a sponge and soak up as much as I can."

The likely fit for Zabel would be replacing Andre James at center. NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein painted the picture of a prospect with good upside in his evaluation of the Pierre, South Dakota native:

"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."

Zabel has been mocked as a high-to-mid first-round pick in recent projections.

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