Coming out of North Dakota State, offensive guard Grey Zabel was picked by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Fresh out of college, he carried varied experience playing at a few positions across the line, including left guard, left tackle, and right guard. But after drafting him, Seattle decided to make him play for the left guard spot. However, a trade move from Mike Macdonald left Zabel adjusting again.
“I knew it was going to be challenging,” shared Zabel during the latest presser. “At the end of the day, it’s taking kind of one side of your body and just completely flipping it. So, the best way I tried to describe it to my parents is you’re writing left-handed for a year and a half, and then you got to go right-handed, in a matter of a week.
“So, it might not be pretty, but we’re going to do our best and at the end of the day, you’re a competitor. You want to win and go out and try and do the best you possibly can for your team, for the guys next to you for the O line and ultimately your quarterback to keep them clean.”
The metaphor captured his adjustment: a year and a half of left-guard muscle memory compressed into one week at right guard. Definitely, Zabel had prior experience in playing right guard at college, but somehow in his latest presser, the fans could not find enough confidence in his speech.
Zabel acknowledged that changing positions was always going to be difficult. Moving to a different spot on the offensive line means adjusting his stance, footwork, hand placement, blocking angles, and body mechanics. In that case, he gave Macdonald and his team a heads-up that his performances could look rough initially as he gets accustomed to the new position.
“It was a challenge, an opportunity for me to grow, get outside my comfort zone, and ultimately become a better player,” Zabel said Thursday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, via radio host Gregg Bell. “There are places that I need to become better at on the right side, especially hand usage and getting my sets in correctly. But that just comes with practice, time … You don’t have much of that in the NFL, so we gotta kind of jump from last week to this week and just get better.”
Swapping Zabel’s position came with immediate impact.
Chicago Bears defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons taught Zabel a tough lesson. He surrendered three pressures and one sack, per Pro Football Focus. However, the bigger concern was his pass-blocking grade of 13.2, which represented a career-worst mark.
Macdonald acknowledged the adjustment period, noting that Zabel’s early struggles were expected as he acclimated to the new position. Every time Sam Darnold looked to settle into the pocket, Simmons was there to make his presence felt. Zabel faced a formidable challenge throughout the evening, and his unfamiliarity with the new position may have contributed to the struggles. All this happened with just one move on the roster.
The Seahawks added six-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson, and Zabel sacrificed the left guard role. He was put at left guard because it is the only position he has played in the NFL throughout his career with the team.
Meanwhile, Zabel last played right guard in 2020, when he started three games at the position at North Dakota State. He has not played there in the NFL. But Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Ray Roberts was confident about Zabel’s ability to adjust.
“It’ll be easier for him because he’s played (right guard) before,” Roberts said on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “When I played in Detroit, we had this guy, Mike Compton, who was like a swing guard. So he was just used to playing left and right, left and right, left and right. … So because (Zabel) has had some experience there – in real games, and not just at an all-star game or something – I don’t think the switch will be hard for him.”
But prior experience alone cannot make every transition seamless. At times, players need time to find their footing in a new position, just like Zabel has asked for some more time.