Seattle Seahawks first-round pick Grey Zabel enjoying learning process

RENTON, Wash. - Asking a rookie to be the cure-all for the offensive line issues of the Seattle Seahawks in recent seasons is probably an unfair ask.

However, there's no question that first-round pick Grey Zabel will have a spotlight on him this fall for the Seahawks as they attempt to raise the level of play of their offensive line to a much higher level.

With pads coming on over the last two days for Seattle, Zabel is being introduced to the next step of his learning curve at the pro level.

"I’ll give you guys some insider information," Zabel offered to reporters following practice on Tuesday. "Coach (Mike) Macdonald probably doesn’t want me to, but Leonard Williams, J-Reed, (Byron) Murphy, those guys are really, really good. I don’t know if you guys knew that or not."

For a player coming from the FCS level at North Dakota State, the jump to facing players with the talent of Williams, Reed and Murphy is a noticeable difference.

"I would say quickness off the ball, and smartness, too," Zabel said of those differences. "You just named off three elite defensive linemen, and so being able to understand what they're thinking while still trying to get your job done reading their stances and all that, and then them also playing games with you and mixing up their stance, so you think one thing and they do another."

Zabel credited Williams with helping coach him up as well.

"These guys are some of the best leaders I’ve been around," Zabel said. "Like, Leo talking to me the past few days during one-on-ones, helping me out, progressing my pass set, what he’s seeing, what I’m feeling, all that stuff. That’s just the type of person, player he is, the leader that he is. That’s the culture that’s being built around here."

Zabel has been firmly entrenched with the starting unit at left guard during the first week of training camp. While there continues to be some mixing and matching of pieces along the line, Zabel has been a constant along with tackles Charles Cross and Abe Lucas.

"Grey's very smart," Cross said of Zabel. "Very athletic and he has great ball ahead of him. He's going to play great ball."

Cross and Zabel have seemingly hit it off quickly as teammates. The two shotgunned bottles of Gatorade after practice on Tuesday.

"I just had to show him a few Midwest traditions as we’re getting to know each other," Zabel quipped. "You could probably say I was a bad influence on him.

"It’s hard to describe our relationship because we have so much fun out on the football field together and it carries over into the meeting rooms with cracking jokes and always laughing. I think he’s starting to come out of his shell a little bit and accept the leadership role that he’s in. He’s continuing to push us but at the same time we’re having fun every single day."

Laken Tomlinson started all 17 games for Seattle at left guard last season. While his durability was a benefit, the level of play was too inconsistent. Throw in a failed experiment with Connor Williams at center and a revolving door of options at right guard that included Anthony Bradford, Christian Haynes and Sataoa Laumea and the standard just wasn't good enough consistently enough.

The Seahawks were also very unhappy with the coaching the unit received from offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff. The two were replaced with Klint Kubiak and John Benton, respectively.

Zabel is a fan of the scheme the Seahawks are implementing this year.

"I love it. Run the damn ball," he said. "… That’s what we’re going to hang our hat on this year. It starts up front, then you have to be able to move the line of scrimmage, and protect the guy behind us who’s slinging the rock pretty well right now.

He also credited Benton with helping him to improve.

"I feel like he can see the wheels turning in my head thinking about a certain play and he just answers it for me. That is a testament to the type of coach he is and can understand all the players," Zabel said of Benton.

Zabel will get every opportunity to run with the starting job during camp. Laumea has served as the backup on the left side through the first week and has experience from last season, but Zabel was a first-round pick for a reason and will get the opportunity to prove he can handle the role.

"Being locked in every single play and having your best play be the next play," Zabel said of what he's learned so far. "Learning from every single play because coming into this league as a rookie, it's not going to be perfect. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to get the job done, you’ve got to keep the quarterback vertical, and you’ve got to find a way to move the line of scrimmage. Just understanding that and taking it into a mindset type deal. You're just going to have to will yourself into a block and you might not have the best footwork or hand placement, but you’ve just got to fight and continue to find that edge."

Notes:

– Cornerback Shaquill Griffin and linebacker Ernest Jones IV both remained away from the team to deal with separate personal matters. Nose tackle Johnathan Hankins continues to be absent from camp as well.

– Running back Ken Walker III had the day off for rest.

– Cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles remained sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

– Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (PUP) and defensive end Rylie Mills (NFI) also remain sidelined on their respective injury lists.

– Cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett had an interception of Drew Lock on a throw for Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and broke up another pass intended for Tyrone Broden.

– Wide receiver Dareke Young had multiple catches in the practice, which included a highlight-reel grab over Damarion Williams and another over Kam Alexander.

– Defensive end Jared Ivey and guard Anthony Bradford got into a minor scrap when Ivey shoved Bradford in the back after a rep in 1-on-1's. Second-round picks Nick Emmanwori and Elijah Arroyo also had a brief scrap as Emmanwori seemingly took exception to the blocking of Arroyo at the end of a play, but the two settled the matter quickly.

– Safety Ty Okada made a nice play to rip a would-be catch out of the hands of Arroyo late in practice on a nicely thrown ball from Lock up the sideline.

– Seattle signed defensive tackle Thor Griffith and waived nose tackle Justin Rogers.

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