Grey Zabel

Seahawks Select OL Grey Zabel At No. 18

April 24th, 2025 at 9:07pm CST by Adam La Rose

Adding along the offensive line has long been seen as a need for the Seahawks, and Seattle has indeed gone that route in the opening round. North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel is headed to the Emerald City.

The Seahawks entertained calls about trading down, Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reports. That will likely be the case for nearly every team left in the order, but Seattle elected to stay in place. Zabel had come up as a potential Seahawks target this week, and the Division I-FCS standout will indeed become the rare high-end Seahawks guard investment.

Zabel was billed as one of the draft’s top center prospects, but the prospect showed plenty of versatility throughout his college career. The player spent time at every position on the OL during his time at North Dakota State, and that should provide the Seahawks with some options as they draw up their offensive line in 2025 and beyond.

Perhaps guard will end up being the rookie’s landing spot, at least for next season. Laken Tomlinson is in Houston now, and the Seahawks other options consist of Anthony Bradford (ranked 72nd out of 77 guards in 2024, per PFF), Sataoa Laumea (77th out of 77), and Christian Haynes, a 2024 third-rounder who did not crack the starting lineup as a rookie.

The team’s going to already be relying on one of those underwhelming pieces, but now they have an intriguing first-round prospect to throw into the mix. With Sam Darnold now manning QB after inking a lucrative contract, the Seahawks are surely focused on keeping their investment upright.

While guard could be the rookie’s temporary landing spot, Zabel’s savviness means he could ultimately land at tackle…or perhaps he’ll realize his pre-draft reports and settle in as an elite center. There’s even a chance his role evolves through his rookie campaign. It’s a bit of an unknown, and that certainly provides a bit of intrigue to the selection. Seahawks fans will want to keep an eye on where Zabel lines up during rookie minicamp.

Ben Levine contributed to this report.

Cowboys Likely To Target Skill Position In First Round

April 23rd, 2025 at 10:09pm CST by Ely Allen

With the 2025 NFL Draft coming tomorrow night, several teams are zoning in on where their draft focus will be in the first round. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, there are “many sources” who expect the Cowboys to target an offensive skill position (quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or tight end) with the No. 12 overall pick.

Considering the recent extension for quarterback Dak Prescott and the recent trade for backup passer Joe Milton, I believe we can safely dismiss any notions of quarterback being a target. The presence of two tight ends (Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker) still on their rookie deals, one of whom has a Pro Bowl to their name already, likely disqualifies that position, as well.

That leaves running back and wide receiver. Running back was certainly a weakness last year, but Dallas addressed the position in free agency this offseason, signing both Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. While the two aren’t exactly world-beaters, they’ve each shown an ability to carry the load as a starter in the past, giving the Cowboys a passable duo of rushers for 2025. That being said, if Ashton Jeanty were to fall to 12, it would likely be hard for the team to pass him up. Other options like Omarion Hampton, can’t likely be ruled out but would more likely be targeted in the second round or with a trade back in the first.

With that in mind, we can turn our attention, as Russini did, to wide receiver, specifically, Texas wideout Matthew Golden and Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan. NFL Network’s Jane Slater seconded this notion today, saying that, while the team needs an offensive lineman, they really want a wide receiver.

McMillan appears to be the most desired choice, but Slater reports concerns that he’ll go before Dallas gets a chance to take him (like to the Saints at No. 9 overall). That leaves Golden, whose speed (4.29 40-yard dash at the combine) gives the Cowboys what they’re looking for in a pass catcher to pair with CeeDee Lamb.

In his last second mock draft, ESPN’s Matt Miller also landed on McMillan, though he noted the team’s extensive work done on offensive linemen. This is evidenced by the recent update that Alabama offensive guard Tyler Booker was one of the most recent players to take a top-30 visit to Dallas, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is another name Slater mentioned for the Cowboys, but there is a presumption that he will get selected before the Cowboys get to pick by the Jets at No. 7 overall.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated did a breakdown yesterday of each team’s biggest draft needs, and after mentioning McMillan and Golden (as well as Michigan cornerback Will Johnson) for the Cowboys, Breer turned his attention to versatile North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel. Zabel brings plenty of intrigue to the first round. Despite starting games at every position along the offensive line in college except center, Zabel has been projected as the draft class’s best center prospect. Regardless, he is certainly one of the draft’s top interior offensive linemen, and many are connecting him to Dallas.

Breer specifically mentions that Zabel won’t make it out of the teens, which Miller’s mock draft reflects, as well, sending him to the Seahawks at No. 18 overall. Per Miller, Zabel and McMillan are the two names that Seattle has focused in on. The team reportedly believes that the guard position is deeper than receiver in this draft, so McMillan would be the preference, but if either player is still around by the 18th pick, they may be headed to Seattle.

That might end up being possible, too, as Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS seems to believe there is no chance of the Cowboys considering an offensive lineman in the first round, despite all the work they’ve done on the position. It seems like the only way they may land on an offensive lineman in the first round is if they trade back, which is certainly also a possibility. According to Jon Machota of The Athletic, Cowboys owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones claimed that the team is “actively looking at potential trades they could do before or after the draft.”

Other players that Slater listed as names the Cowboys are kicking around are Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen, Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce, and Virginia Tech running back Bhayshul Tuten. She notes that the team has character red flags for Pearce, so he shouldn’t be a Day 1 consideration for Dallas. She also believes that some of Jones’ trade ideas could lead the Cowboys into the late-second round, where they would target Tuten. We’re less than 24 hours away from getting to find out just how all of these ideas will finally play out in reality.

Seahawks Still Open To Drafting QB; Team Eyeing OL, WR Additions

April 18th, 2025 at 3:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Seahawks have their starting quarterback of the present and (potentially) future in Sam Darnold. The team has also reunited with Drew Lock to compete for the backup gig with returnee Sam Howell. Despite those moves, drafting a quarterback is still on the table.

“I think it’s a great situation,” general manager John Schneider said of the team’s new quarterback setup during his latest appearance on Seattle Sports radio. “It doesn’t preclude us from doing anything in the draft either, in figuring out what’s going on there. It’s really like an, ‘OK, let’s get this in the mix.’ Drew had other opportunities, so we figured we better wrap this up, kind of put a bow on it, get him in the building and then let’s see what happens in the draft, because it’s difficult to find that great fit at quarterback as you move through the process.”

Darnold inked a three-year pact to replace Geno Smith atop the depth chart, but the Seahawks could move on after the 2025 campaign based on the structure of his deal. Neither Lock nor Howell (a pending 2026 free agent) have established themselves as full-time starting options in their careers, so adding a rookie to the mix would be feasible. Seattle owns 10 picks in April’s draft, but the team of course also has roster holes to fill at other positions.

That includes the interior of the offensive line, a spot Schneider has previously mentioned as a position of need. Selecting a guard would come as little surprise, and PFR’s mock draft has the team taking Alabama’s Tyler Booker 18th overall. The Seahawks have other Day 1 options to consider up front, though, and one of them appears to be firmly on the radar.

Grey Zabel is believed to be a Seattle target, Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline reports. The North Dakota State product’s stock has risen during the pre-draft process, and he is firmly on the Day 1 radar (although Pauline adds the Seahawks could look to trade down the order before adding Zabel). In any case, a blocker added early in the draft would have the chance to play right away on an offensive line looking to rebound from last year’s showing.

Confirming O-line is a logical target in Seattle’s case, ESPN’s Matt Miller writes a receiver is another position to watch early in the draft. Adding size in particular to a WR room which lost D.K. Metcalf last month could be in play, per Miller. As a result, Tetairoa McMillan could be a target on Day 1. Seattle still has Jaxon Smith-Njigba atop the depth chart along with veteran Cooper Kupp, who was signed in free agency after Tyler Lockett‘s release. There is room for an impact rookie to play a rotational role starting in 2025.

Overall, the Seahawks have five of the first 92 selections in this year’s draft. Schneider will have plenty of opportunities to add at several positions as a result, but upgrading up front and/or in the pass-catching department early would come as no surprise.

2025 NFL Draft Visits: Williams, Simmons, Texans

April 10th, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The 2025 NFL Draft class is fairly deep at the defensive tackle position. One player contributing to that depth is Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams. Williams has gotten a ton of attention lately. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Williams visited the Texans today after recent visits with the Eagles, Bills, and Packers.

Part of this year’s championship-winning Buckeyes crew, Williams has been a full-time starter in Columbus for the last two seasons. He broke out with his performances in those two years, totaling 18 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over that time.

Because Williams is not expected to be a top 10 pick, his interest is coming from all over the NFL, both from teams who could select him in the late-first or early-second round. Per Wilson, he has upcoming visits with the 49ers, Ravens, and Lions on his schedule.

Here are a few other reported visits from around the NFL:

A teammate of Williams’ on the other side of the ball, offensive tackle Josh Simmons is also a fringe first-round prospect. After starting all 13 games for the Aztecs of San Diego State as a true freshman, Simmons transferred to Ohio State where he immediately became a full-time starter at right tackle. In 2023, he switched over to the blindside, where he started every game until missing half his senior season with a torn patellar tendon. The injury hasn’t stopped teams from being interested, though. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Simmons visited with the Packers on Monday and the Ravens on Tuesday. Schefter adds that he met with the Colts today and will see the Chiefs tomorrow.
One team that could see Simmons in the future is the Texans, who have been doing plenty of research on offensive linemen after seeing some changes to their starting lineup for 2025. The team hosted North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel today, per Wilson. Zabel had experience playing for the Bison at all four tackle and guard spots but is widely seen as one of the top center prospects in the class, a position at which Houston would welcome an upgrade with open arms. The team also hosted fringe first-round prospect Aireontae Ersery out of Minnesota. Playing left tackle for the Golden Gophers, Ersery could be a potential tackle of the future to step in after Cam Robinson or Trent Brown.