Brock spotlights a quietly brilliant Seahawks pivot that no one talked about until it started paying massive dividends. DH
The Seattle Seahawks made a pretty obvious pivot last offseason.
Instead of continuing with Geno Smith at quarterback and wide receiver DK Metcalf as his top option in the passing game, the Seahawks traded them both while signing Sam Darnold to be their new QB.
That’s worked out pretty well so far with Darnold turning into an MVP candidate and forming an incredible connection with third-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the NFL in receiving and is on pace to make league history.
But that’s not the only pivot the Seahawks made ahead of the 2025 season, as Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard has pointed out. General manager and president of football operations John Schneider also pivoted in his approach to the offensive line, and that’s showing up in a big way, too.
“Instead of going scrap heap, instead of going veteran, instead of going old… they said, no, alright, we’re going in. We’re jumping in,” Huard said.
The Seahawks did that by drafting left guard Grey Zabel with the No. 20 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Not only has Zabel started all eight games for Seattle this year, but he has yet to allow a sack, and the O-line as a whole has allowed Darnold to be sacked only nine times.
“We’re going to take him in the top 20 – yes, a guard – and we’re going to go young,” Huard continued. “We’re not going to go with the Laken Tomlinsons, we’re not going to go the veteran route. They had done that for so many years, and I think kudos again to their offseason of pivoting and saying, no, we’re not doing that.
“… Obviously the O-line brain trust and all the institutional knowledge and the offensive line grouping with all of their different coaches reinforce that, but we are going to go young, we’re going to go athletic, and it is paying big dividends.”
There may even be room to grow for the O-line, too, because while Seattle’s pass protection has been tremendous, the run game it is committed to hasn’t taken off yet.
“Are they running the ball as efficiently as they want to? No. (But) has Sam Darnold been sacked nine times in eight games? Yes. And is their pass protection off the charts with that youth and with that athleticism through eight games? It is a definitive yes, as well,” Huard said.
Hear the full conversation in Blue 88, the final segment of the podcast below. Catch Blue 88 at 7:45 a.m. during Brock and Salk, which airs weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on Seattle Sports.
