Brian Baldinger breaks down Seahawks rookie Grey Zabel's strong first game

Here's something we haven't seen since Abe Lucas made his first start for the Seahawks three years ago.

Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel is selected as the No. 18 pick by the Seattle Seahawks during the NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Seattle Seahawks offensive line has been so bad for so long that you could forgive fans for giving up hope that it might ever change for the better. While they will be trotting out largely the same starting five as the end of last season, Seattle did make three significant changes this offseason.

First, they have a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak who's determined to establish a more physical, run-first identity. Second, they hired a new offensive line coach who actually has previous experience at this level. Finally, they used their first-round draft pick on NDSU star Grey Zabel.

It's only been one preseason game, but the early signs are all positive about Zabel. For one thing, Zabel and several other offensive linemen earned strong grades from PFF against the Raiders. Another sign is that Zabel has been featured in the latest version of Baldy's Breakdowns. Watch.

Brian Baldinger on Grey Zabel

.@Seahawks @GreyZabel Zabel is annoyingly sticky. Strong Hands and Qk Feet and a lot of Power. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/QEIQH6EZfp

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 8, 2025

No matter how good an offensive lineman might be, odds are their jerseys aren't going to be bestsellers. However, the rest of what Baldinger says here is correct and extremely encouraging regarding Zabel's potential at this level.

While there's a lot to like here, the hard truth is that the center and right guard positions are still liabilities. Jalen Sundell and Anthony Bradford both earned poor grades and as-yet there are no other proven options on the roster for those spots.

Unless general manager John Schneider makes an aggressive move to uprade at least one of those spots before the season begins, all this promise may go to waste.

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