Field Yates’ home run draft pick for Seahawks at No. 18

The Seattle Seahawks have a glaring need to improve their interior offensive line. And after doing little to address that area in free agency, it’s become even more crucial for the team to target those interior spots in April’s NFL Draft.

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Of course, that doesn’t mean Seattle has to take a guard or center with its No. 18 overall pick. This year’s draft has a good collection of interior offensive linemen and the Seahawks have five top-100 picks, so they should still have ample opportunity to find quality O-line talent in the second or third rounds.

But in an ideal scenario, ESPN’s Field Yates doesn’t have the Hawks waiting.

During a recent appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, Yates was asked who would be a home run pick for the Seahawks at No. 18. He immediately went with versatile North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel, whose stock has surged since a standout performance at the Senior Bowl two months ago.

“He is a hand-and-glove fit for what they need to do along the offensive line and how they want to play,” Yates said. “(New Seahawks offensive coordinator) Klint Kubiak, he needs these big offensive linemen that can really move.

“And it’s just one week, but he was the best player I saw at the Senior Bowl that week. He was fantastic. He just completely dominated in offensive line and defensive line one-on-ones. There was no guy too big, too small, too fast, too nothing for him.”

Zabel’s versatility and athleticism

Zabel has a unique level of versatility after playing all five O-line spots during his time at North Dakota State, where he helped the Bison win back-to-back FCS national championships in 2023 and 2024.

During his college career, Zabel started 18 games at left tackle, 17 games at right tackle, four at left guard and three at right guard, according to Pro Football Focus. He also played snaps at center.

Zabel is projected to be a guard or center in the NFL. Yates and ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. rank Zabel as the second-best guard in this year’s draft class, while fellow ESPN draft experts Matt Miller and Jordan Reid rank him as the top center.

In particular, Zabel’s athleticism could make him a perfect fit for Kubiak’s wide-zone rushing attack. The 6-foot-6, 312-pound Zabel showcased that athleticism at the NFL scouting combine, where he led all offensive linemen with a 36.5-inch vertical jump – which was tied for the third-best vertical jump by an offensive lineman in combine history.

“You’re gonna hear so much about these zone-scheme offensive linemen playing for Klint Kubiak,” Yates said. “You’re going to prioritize athletic ability, perhaps even versatility, more so than guys who have this hulking power.”

In Yates’ view, Zabel is the type of guard upgrade the Seahawks desperately need. And as he pointed out, it’s vital that Seattle provides new quarterback Sam Darnold quality protection up front.

“This offense needs to be better from guard to guard,” Yates said. “It just does. Sam is a guy who last year got good protection (in Minnesota) and played really well. (But) when things broke down in the last two games of last season, the common thread was the protection was bad.

“So Grey Zabel would be, to me, a hand-and-glove fit.”

Listen to the full conversation with ESPN’s Field Yates at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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