PIERRE — Pierre’s Grey Zabel is a Seattle Seahawk. 

The Pierre Governor was selected by the Seahawks with the 18th overall pick during Thursday’s NFL Draft. Zabel is the first South Dakotan drafted in the first round since Parkston’s Riley Reiff was selected 23rd overall by the Detroit Lions in 2012.

A 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive lineman, Zabel has played multiple positions across the Bison offensive line in college. 

He was a two-time NCAA Division I FCS national champion with title wins over Montana State in 2021 and ‘24.. He started the final 36 consecutive games of his career and totaled 41 starts over his five seasons including games at left tackle, right tackle, left guard and right guard. He was a first team FCS All-American at left tackle as a senior in 2024.

Zabel skyrocketed up draft boards in the pre-draft process and improved his draft stock with impressive showings at the Reese’s Senior Bowl and NFL Combine. 

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein said about Zabel: “Tough-guy profile on this prospect coming out of North Dakota State. Zabel has an NFL frame with room for additional mass and possesses a good starting point in terms of his play strength. He has to play with really quick hands and good feet in order to compensate for short arms that make sustaining blocks and controlling pass rushers more challenging. Teams might ask Zabel to snap during draft season in order to project positional flexibility.”