Grey Zabel Joins Elite List of Standout Players in Surprising Addition of OROTY

The Seattle Seahawks had a mildly successful night at the NFL Honors on Thursday. Star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named to the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. They did have head coach Mike Macdonald miss out on Coach of the Year and nickel Nick Emmanwori miss out on Defensive Rookie of the Year.

As it turns out, another Seahawks player had some votes for an award, and it was one not many were expecting. Starting left guard Grey Zabel received two first place votes for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

He was only behind Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan’s 41 votes, thus giving him the award, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough’s 5 votes. Zabel apparently had more votes than New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson and New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.

This is an interesting surprise, considering that offensive linemen aren’t often given much love from the media, as they are part of a unit. The league did add the Protector of the Year Award for the first time to be given to the best offensive linemen this year.

Henderson has been a solid backup for the Patriots. Dart has seen a lot of media attention for playing well in a good portion of a bad Giants season.

Seattle Seahawks guard Grey Zabel pass protecting in the Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. — Sep 14, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) pass rushes at the line of scrimmage against Seattle Seahawks guard Grey Zabel (76) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

For Zabel to be given this credit means that his development and reliability are noticeable. Zabel finished the 2025 regular season at No. 11 among the NFL's top rookies in the 2025 Draft class. He was the third-graded offensive lineman on the list.

Zabel joins an elite group of offensive linemen to finish in the top three in the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award within the last ten seasons. Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphry (2021) and Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson (2018) were the only other offensive linemen to finish in the top three of the awards.

Both players remain as two of the top interior offensive linemen in the league and are key leaders to their offenses. Zabel has a chance to be that player, along with two solid young offensive tackles in Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas.

The Seahawks drafted Zabel in the first round, 18th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draf to help rebuild the interior significantly. This includes drastically improving the run-game and creating a more efficient pass-protection from the interior.

The Seahawks finished the regular season with the third-ranked scoring offense, the eighth-ranked passing offense, and the 10th-ranked rushing offense. A lot of it is due to the continuing development of Zabel into a proficient run-blocker on the outside and a dominant zone blocker. This accomplishment from Zabel shows he is on the path to having multiple Pro Bowls in his career.

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