Top Seahawk rookie finally gets some respect from PFF in season finale

How Do We Love Grey Zabel? Let Me Count The Ways

As a general rule, Seahawks fans love Grey Zabel. And they love him on general principle, just by virtue of the fact that he exists.

Ever since Grey Zabel was made Seattle’s first round selection back in April of 2025, 18th overall, he has been the strongest hope the Seahawks have had at the left guard position since at least James Carpenter in the first half of the 2010s. You might even be able to go back further, to the 2000s with Steve Hutchinson. Either way, there’s a lot on his shoulders.

The left guard spot has been a source of frustration for Seattle for quite some time. Last year was veteran Laken Tomlinson. Before then, three mixed years from Damien Lewis. Mike Iupati when his body allowed him to be on the field. J.R. Sweezy getting the last drops of life out of his career. Luke Joeckel. Mark Glowinski before he became a good starter in Indy. Justin Britt.

Nothing really stuck. About half of those players were playing out of position. And in a league where the left guard spot was becoming more and more important, Seattle seemed like they were ignoring it. Until they spent a top twenty draft pick on one back in April. And just like that, Grey Zabel was beloved without even playing a snap.

He represented an investment into the interior offensive line that the team hadn’t made in far too long. After years of trying to subsist on low draft picks and bargain bin free agents, finally Seattle would make an effort to secure a blue chipper. The fans loved it, and it’s not hard to understand why. And then, you’ve had his rookie season to this point.

A Mixed Rookie Campaign

Zabel’s rookie year has been somewhere between excellent and lackluster depending on who you ask. I know, that’s a wide range of outcomes, but so it goes in this league sometimes. ESPN has been very kind to him with their win rates and pressure percentage allowed, marking him with numbers that would make him one of the best guards in the entire league.

And there’s something to be said for starting all seventeen games as a rookie, missing only thirteen snaps all season. Only twelve rookies started all seventeen games in 2025. Don’t forget that Zabel played tackle in college, and was making a transition to a new position that he had very limited experience with, after most expected him to go to center in the NFL.

It's been a mixed rookie campaign for Zabel. — Seattle Seahawks guard Grey Zabel (76) against the Arizona Cardinals. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

But there’s been one website that has refused to show Zabel much respect at all. Pro Football Focus has been beating up on him for almost the entire season. Which is interesting, because their raw statistics on him have been okay. On just over 550 pass blocking reps, they’ve attributed 24 pressures allowed to him and just 2 sacks (both in the second Rams game).

But the grading has been harsh. Before last night’s game, they had given him a grade above 65 just three times. Seven times, it was sub 50, a dubious moniker that marked him as one of the worst starting guards in football. For most of the season, PFF had his grade lower than their grade for Anthony Bradford, the often-mocked Seattle right guard.

It’s common sense to expect a rookie offensive lineman to make a lot of mistakes, and I don’t doubt that Zabel has made plenty of them. I do absolutely believe that Zabel’s play was a part of the reason why Seattle struggled so much to run the ball early in the year. Still, the degree to which PFF believed he was a detriment was surprising, and didn’t seem right.

A Week Eighteen Breakthrough

However, last night, things flipped the other way violently. For the first time this season, Grey Zabel was given a PFF grade above 80. In fact, the grade was above 90. His 93.4 was the highest grade given to any player on the Seahawks in the game last night. Which is crazy given how ridiculously good Seattle’s defense was last night.

Zabel actually committed a holding penalty (questionable to my eyes) in the game as well, which makes his remarkable grade all the more impressive. He was given clean pressure numbers from PFF, but his 72.8 pass blocking grade wasn’t even doing the heavy lifting last night. 91.6 run blocking is his best grade in the category by 19 points this season.

This comes on the heels of another well-graded game last week against the Panthers, a 68.1, which at that point was his third-highest grade of the year. If this represents some kind of turning point in Zabel’s season, where he’s starting to figure things out and offer up the consistency that comes with experience, it’s a welcome development.

It’s no coincidence that last night was also Seattle’s best game running the ball this season, as they churned out 180 yards and largely controlled the game on the ground. The high level of play coming from the interior offensive line unlocks dimensions in the offense that were lacking earlier in the season, and will prove invaluable in the postseason.

It took all seventeen games, but Zabel finally got a big nod from Pro Football Focus. And while the win last night means a lot more than a good grade, it is indicative that things are building in the right direction for the Seahawks. Perhaps the team can finally have a long-term answer at the position, after such a long period of instability and mediocrity.

He gives us hope we haven't had in awhile. — Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) pass rushes at the line of scrimmage against Seattle Seahawks guard Grey Zabel (76). | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

How Do We Love Grey Zabel? Let Me Count The Ways

A Mixed Rookie Campaign

A Week Eighteen Breakthrough

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