NFL Draft
11/11/24
6 min read
Grey Zabel 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For North Dakota State Bison OT
Height: 6060 (unofficial)
Weight: 305 (unofficial)
Year: Fifth-Year Senior
Pro Comparison: David Edwards
Scouting Overview
North Dakota State offensive tackle Gray Zabel is a highly experienced FCS offensive lineman with the play demeanor to make a successful leap to the NFL level.
He’s tough and gritty, plays through the end of the echo of the whistle, and has developed his frame into an NFL body to afford him the needed functional strength to hold up against pro competition. Zabel has maintained sufficient functional athleticism throughout that body transformation and should be a feasible option in any offensive system — but he’ll need to iron out some technical lapses in order to ensure he’s ready to play.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Mauling presence at the point of attack
- Good reactive quickness to flash against undercutting defenders
- Strong lower half mobility to allow him to play with leverage and control while engaged with defenders
Negatives
- Hand placement and discipline will be a technical point of emphasis to reduce grabbing outside contact strike zone
- Height and fairly lean build yield some irregular pad level that can be more consistent
- Penalties were a big issue prior to the 2024 season
Background
Zabel is from Pierre, SD, and played high school football for T.F. Riggs HS. As a 240-lb offensive tackle, he garnered little interest and was unranked as a recruit (247 Sports) while also participating in basketball and baseball at T.F. Riggs.
Zabel was a two-way player on the gridiron before settling into the offensive line upon his commitment to North Dakota State. He’s played more than 2,400 snaps for the Bison and has logged starts at left tackle, left guard, right guard, and right tackle throughout the course of his five-year career with the program.
Tale Of The Tape
Grey Zabel has the goods. He’s an old-school grinder up front who plays the game with the needed edge to help be an asset along the offensive line. That said, he pushes the envelope and will need refinement to properly apply his gifts as an NFL starter.
His toughness stands out on tape. He’s constantly churning his feet and straining and plays with the killer instinct you like to see from an offensive lineman charged with creating displacement up front. Zabel will mirror with his hands set before converting to try to press defenders down into the grass.
He gets strong movement on his combination blocks to create displacement, but he isn’t reliant on his guard to create space. Downblocks and turnout blocks showcase the ability to dictate terms. You don’t expect the same level of physical weardown against NFL competition relative to the majority of the FCS schedule, but Zabel did play one of the best games of the season in 2024 against Colorado.
Zabel has good hinges for a player of his stature, which is significant in making him a reactive athlete. He doesn’t play top-heavy and has plenty of ability to extend his base. He also plays with the needed spring and agility to react quickly to counters.
He passes the eye test with his movement skills in space and when he’s attached to defenders—showing the core strength and center of gravity to absorb contact and reassert his base when catching power rushes. I like the way he eats up and engulfs defenders who try to go toe-to-toe with him; he plays up to his reputation in close-quarters combat.
Zabel has the ability to climb and secure on the second level, either with a straight release or working off of a combination block. He’s not a dominant athlete, so more athletic linebackers or defenders with anticipation for the flow of the ball could get out in front of him and scrape over the top to the point of attack. However, zone systems will get him in position to play the cutback by the back, and he sticks with plays in a manner that should leave him well-positioned to reattach to the body of the defender.
That said, it isn’t all good just yet. Zabel’s hands are often all over the map, and his strike placement is far too erratic, which will negate his strike power and initial knockback off the ball. The subsequent recovery of poor placement offers defenders the opportunity to either run through blocks in close spaces or otherwise get a grab from Zabel and a potential pull.
This fueled his tendency for penalties to be called against him (8 in 2023). The looseness with his hands is still present on tape, even if the penalties are down in 2024. He’ll need better accuracy and more discipline here.
Zabel plays with good but not great functional length on the edge. His positional versatility as a player who has started at both guard and tackle spots is a nice plus for finding an NFL home. On the edge, his hand strike timing and placement can combine with good but not great foot speed and good but not great length to unnecessarily test him at times. Zabel will need to be disciplined here, and if he struggles with NFL speed to power on the edge, it may prompt him to kick inside. I can see him starting in there, too.
Zabel is occasionally high at first contact, although this appears to be more of a discipline issue than a functional ability issue. He shows plenty of ability to sit down on his hips to eat power rushes or, alternatively, coil through contact and explode through a defender’s frame.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Zabel projects as a developmental starting offensive lineman at the NFL level. Given his experience, I could see him taking to NFL coaching quickly, thanks to maturity, but his hand placement and technique must be more consistent before he’s relied upon to take the field as a starter.
He projects best to an inside zone blocking scheme but could provide schematic flexibility to play in any system thanks to his toughness and sufficient athleticism.
Grade: 74.00/100.00, Third Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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