The Seattle Seahawks held their rookie minicamp on Friday and Saturday, allowing a first look at their draft picks like second-round safety Nick Emmanwori and third-round quarterback Jalen Milroe.
News, notes and observations from Seahawks rookie minicamp
Those two players certainly stood out to Seattle Sports’ Dave Wyman, a former NFL linebacker who now is the Seahawks Radio Network broadcast analyst in addition to his day job as co-host of Wyman and Bob.
In terms of Emmanwori, Wyman said he fit “a theme of big, nasty dudes” that the Seahawks are running with, and that true to the comparisons we have heard, Emmanwori “looks like Kam Chancellor out there.”
As for Milroe, Wyman said he “looked great” and “throws a nice ball,” while giving the caveat that the former Alabama signal-caller was “obviously throwing against lesser competition.”
But after watching some of the minicamp from the sidelines, the position group Wyman spent the most time talking about on Monday afternoon was the one that entered the offseason needing the most improvement.
The Seahawks used three of their 11 picks in last month’s NFL Draft on offensive linemen – guards Grey Zabel (first round), Bryce Cabeldue (sixth round) and Mason Richman (seventh round) – and the good news is Wyman said they all “look good.”
And, as you might expect, Zabel received the most praise.
“When you watch Zabel, he is just so balanced,” Wyman said of the North Dakota State product. “It’s almost like you can’t tell looking at his lower body whether he’s run blocking or pass blocking. He’s just so balanced and steady. My comp to him was (Hall of Famer and Oilers/Titans great) Bruce Matthews, who just you couldn’t beat him, couldn’t get around him.”
The first reps for @GreyZabel. pic.twitter.com/AJvjkQrZAd
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 4, 2025
Wyman qualified that, in general, it’s easier to get a read on linemen at this stage of the offseason. But he still saw things that has him optimistic that a turnaround could be coming on the O-line in 2025.
“If you just look at their pad level… and then just their hips and their feet, that kind of stuff, that really shows up. And it just looks like this is going to be a much improved offensive line,” he said.
There are a couple other things informing Wyman’s opinion. One is new Seahawks offensive line coach John Benton, who didn’t seem to have a problem offering constructive criticism during drills over the weekend. And another is the fact that Seattle has a few other young offensive linemen from last year’s rookie class who Benton can help mold.
“It’s cool to see 76, 77, 78 (Zabel, Cabeldue and Richman), all those guys listed as guards. But don’t forget about the guys that they not only have returning, but then also some of the the young guys from last year like Michael Jerrell, Christian Haynes, Anthony Bradford, (Sataoa Laumea). We’ll see how much that really takes effect, but I think these offensive lineman are going to love playing for Benton. … He sounds kind of gruff and old school.”
For more from Wyman on the Seahawks’ 2025 rookie class, watch his breakdown of the draft picks in the video at the top of this post.
Catch Wyman and Bob from 2-7 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.
Seattle Seahawks news and analysis
• Brock: The good news about Seahawks QB Jalen Milroe’s throwing
• Rosenthal: Where Seahawks stand in roster reshaping
• How Brock envisions ultra-versatile safety Emmanwori being used
• Stacy Rost: Wait – why are Seahawks longshots to win NFC West?
• Bump: A position the Seattle Seahawks still need to address