The 2025 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Grey Zabel NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Interior Offensive Lineman
School: North Dakota State
Size: 6-foot-6, 312 pounds
Class: Senior
2024 stats: FCS First Team All-American
Zabel was an unranked recruit in the class of 2020, who signed with North Dakota State out of South Dakota. He played sparingly his first two seasons on campus. In 2022, he made seven starts for the Bison and helped the team go 12-3 on the way to an FCS Championship Game appearance. He started at guard and tackle in 2023, aiding the team in winning 11 games and making the FCS semifinals. He was an FCS First Team All-American in 2024 for his play at left tackle and led the team to a national championship.
Following the championship, Zabel has been preparing for the 2025 NFL Draft. He is currently projected to be a first or second round pick.
Zabel is a solid athlete for an NFL offensive lineman. He gets a good jump at the snap to start his play, which gives him a leg up on the competition. Zabel can get to the second level and make blocks. He can also get out on the perimeter and make blocks with good lateral mobility. In pass pro, Zabel has the ability to mirror pass rushers well.
He is a mauler in the run game, as he does much more than just execute his assignments. He can move defenders out of the way and clear big holes. Zabel uses his mobility well to get to the second level and block linebackers. He can be used on pulls as well and blocks well in space making him a weapon in the run game.
His versatility is going to make him valuable to an offensive line room at the next level. Zabel started at four positions on the North Dakota State offensive line. He will likely start his career on the interior, but his ability to play tackle if a team gets into a pinch is appealing.
Zabel has room to fill out his frame more and improve his strength. He stands at 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds, which gives him a good frame to work with, but it looks like it could handle more weight. He’ll have to work on that, but he won’t be able to improve his length, as he has just 32-inch arms, which makes it tough to match up with lengthy defenders.
His pad level can get too high, which makes Zabel lose his power. He needs to maintain his leverage by keeping his pad level down. This will help him show off more of his strength and he will be able to win more of his matchups, as currently defenders can have better leverage than him.
He drew too many penalties at the college level and needs to clean it up before being trusted in the NFL. Pre-snap penalties can be cleaned up, but he can also keep his hands inside and avoid holding calls. Working on his technique will help him draw less penalties in the NFL than he did in college.
Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick-Second Round Pick
Draft Grade: Second Round Pick
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