Same path as Unger

Is it possible Zabel takes the same path as Max Unger? Unger was starting RG his rookie season then moved to Center where he solidified that line.

Sure, why not.

Is there a reason people are completely down on Oluwatimi? This is a kid who won two prestigious awards for best college center in 2022: The Outland Trophy and the Rimington Trophy. Last season he only allowed 8 pressures, 3 hit and 0 sacks. In Grubbs janky offense and only playing part of the season due to Connor Williams suddenly retiring. I really don't think this guy is as bad as everyone makes him out to be. For the love of Football, give him a chance in Kubiak's Wide Zone before you have a rookie slated for LG take over the center position.

What I recall from Unger's rookie season is he struggled to hold down RG... and many of us questioned the decision to move him to center in year two, although that is where he starred at Oregon... and those of us with doubts were shown that it was the right decision because he shone at Center his sophomore year.

The question is... why the huge difference? Was it simply the positional change?... or was it the steep learning curve going from college to the NFL in terms of the quality of the players across from you in the trenches?... or a combination of both? Who knows for certain, but it sure was a relief to see that he was worthy of his 2nd round selection after year two.

And then he just got better and better until he was injured... and in hindsight, we gave up on him too soon. We got Graham and he never quite lived up to our expectations... and the Saints got a Pro Bowl center that played at a high level for the next four years.

Back to Zabel... my preference is he is positioned where the coaching staff believes that he'll make the most difference. If that's at LG, so be it. If at Center, so be it. Imo, it's not about Olu... it's about getting the biggest improvement possible adding Zabel to the offensive line.

Wolfiegrrl said:

Is there a reason people are completely down on Oluwatimi? This is a kid who won two prestigious awards for best college center in 2022: The Outland Trophy and the Rimington Trophy. Last season he only allowed 8 pressures, 3 hit and 0 sacks. In Grubbs janky offense and only playing part of the season due to Connor Williams suddenly retiring. I really don't think this guy is as bad as everyone makes him out to be. For the love of Football, give him a chance in Kubiak's Wide Zone before you have a rookie slated for LG take over the center position.

Click to expand...

I’ve only heard his lack of mobility with wide zone. Sundell is way more mobile than Olu.

I think Zabel will be starter at LG and will demonstrate that he deserved to be the 18th pick in the draft.

kinda happy pete didn't draft him as i remember when he moved lewis and he was never as good as he played in his natural spot so and stubbornly kept him there , with this kid , heck , what is his natural spot , hopefully he does well and away we go

Wolfiegrrl said:

Is there a reason people are completely down on Oluwatimi? This is a kid who won two prestigious awards for best college center in 2022: The Outland Trophy and the Rimington Trophy. Last season he only allowed 8 pressures, 3 hit and 0 sacks. In Grubbs janky offense and only playing part of the season due to Connor Williams suddenly retiring. I really don't think this guy is as bad as everyone makes him out to be. For the love of Football, give him a chance in Kubiak's Wide Zone before you have a rookie slated for LG take over the center position.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. Around here a lot of folks have a mentality of: perform now and be an all pro immediately or you suck. Olu hasn’t had a fair shake and lineman take the longest to adapt to the NFL. I think he’ll be just fine.

If Olu and Haynes both show expected 2nd year lineman improvement and Lucas is in fact 100% back from injury we could have a pretty decent, young OL.

Nv_Hawks said:

I’ve only heard his lack of mobility with wide zone. Sundell is way more mobile than Olu.

Click to expand...

Sundell, also has chemistry with Zabel already. Might not be such a bad idea. But since Olu was part of mass dysfunction that was Ryan Grubb’s system, I’ll give Olu another shot this season and if he works, fine, if not, Seattle will try something else.

The team depth at center now appears to be at a minimum of four deep at center ...............



................ and with an emphasis on multi-position athletes, there could be more.

The goal remains to get the best five combination on the field of play.

Wolfiegrrl said:

Is there a reason people are completely down on Oluwatimi? This is a kid who won two prestigious awards for best college center in 2022: The Outland Trophy and the Rimington Trophy. Last season he only allowed 8 pressures, 3 hit and 0 sacks. In Grubbs janky offense and only playing part of the season due to Connor Williams suddenly retiring. I really don't think this guy is as bad as everyone makes him out to be. For the love of Football, give him a chance in Kubiak's Wide Zone before you have a rookie slated for LG take over the center position.

Click to expand...

This will be Olu's 3rd year? That tends to be the year linemen start to figure it out if they ever do. I have high hopes for him and he's held his own at times. With a better O line coaching staff, this may be the year it clicks for him? Wouldn't that be nice. The team really likes Sundell as well plus he has chemistry with Zabel.

I don't think Zabel moving to center anytime soon is in the cards. Kubiak wants a solid smart veteran at center. Zabel is a rookie, he at the very least will get his feet wet at LG while learning/developing.

No. Why and to what end?

Just attach him to one position and let him stick, develop, and excel there. No need for that shuffle when they're trying to finally settle on continuity with the line.

A Zabel switch to C in year 2 would mean that, at minimum, 2/5ths of the oline are playing new positions for the '26 season. Enough already.

Wsumatt1982 said:

This will be Olu's 3rd year? That tends to be the year linemen start to figure it out if they ever do. I have high hopes for him and he's held his own at times. With a better O line coaching staff, this may be the year it clicks for him? Wouldn't that be nice. The team really likes Sundell as well plus he has chemistry with Zabel.

I don't think Zabel moving to center anytime soon is in the cards. Kubiak wants a solid smart veteran at center. Zabel is a rookie, he at the very least will get his feet wet at LG while learning/developing.

Click to expand...

If I were a betting man, I would say Sundell comes out of the pre-season with the starting job at center. His athletic profile is more in line with what the team wants ideally than Ulu. The biggest knock on him coming out of college was that he hadn't yet developed the functional strength to deal with NFL-level DTs and NTs, and a year in the weight room should bring him closer to that. He has ideal size 6'5", 301, is athletic, and smart. I still like Ulu as a prospect, but he should be more solidified by now and I think Sundell might just beat him out if given a fair chance.

I admire and respect the value of versatility for situational adjustments, but I can never argue against having the special continuity an O Line seeks. That is pretty much the barometer for O Line success. Olu will be better if Zabel does a good job at LG. I think he suffered due to trying to hedge as help for poor play to either side of him. His history is one of steady improvement, so I have faith that will continue for him. If not I hope the change happens pre-season so the line has a chance of establishing the continuity they need before regular season play.

It's exactly what I'm expecting. The nice thing about Zabel is he can play ALL 5 positions. And well.

Nv_Hawks said:

Is it possible Zabel takes the same path as Max Unger? Unger was starting RG his rookie season then moved to Center where he solidified that line.

Click to expand...

Appyhawk said:

I admire and respect the value of versatility for situational adjustments, but I can never argue against having the special continuity an O Line seeks. That is pretty much the barometer for O Line success. Olu will be better if Zabel does a good job at LG. I think he suffered due to trying to hedge as help for poor play to either side of him. His history is one of steady improvement, so I have faith that will continue for him. If not I hope the change happens pre-season so the line has a chance of establishing the continuity they need before regular season play.

Click to expand...

As I recall, there was considerable disappointment during last year's OTAs and training camp with the conditioning of some offensive linemen. Given this off season emphasis on athleticism, I don't believe that will be as tolerated this year. The conditioning floor should be much higher. They currently have 14 vets and draft choices. Plus another 3 post draft rookie free agents. Plus another 2 rookie invites to consider during the rookie orientation week. That's 19 offensive linemen under consideration.

In 2025, I don't expect to see the offensive line development delayed because of a repeat of last year's conditioning issues.

That's a huge plus!

Could we see if Zabel can play before we ship him off for a declining TE that doesn't fit the system we're using?

Who said we're shipping him off? He's gonna' be on this line for the next decade.

Zabel is LG and only LG. He’s versatile but end goal is LG, let’s not just toss him around the line because they can.