This has been quite a year for the Seattle Seahawks. And it’s not just their play on the field we’re referring to.

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Yes, the Seahawks are 10-3, which ties them for both first place in the NFC West and the NFC as a whole with the Los Angeles Rams. But just as important as what their players are doing week in and week out on the gridiron are the decisions that led to those players coming together.

That includes signing quarterback Sam Darnold after moving on from Geno Smith in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, and it extends to what the Seahawks did in the NFL Draft earlier this year.

One player from that draft, second-round defensive back Nick Emmanwori, has been a big storyline this week after his incredible game in a 37-9 blowout win on the road over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. But the one draft pick for Seattle that came before him is also turning heads even though he plays a position that doesn’t stand out nearly as much.

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Left guard Grey Zabel, who the Seahawks picked 18th overall, has left quite the impression on NFL Network insider Daniel Jeremiah.

“I was talking on the phone with a GM this morning. I was finishing up (watching tape of the Seahawks-Falcons game) – I had done the defense, I was finishing up the offensive tape in this game,” Jeremiah told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Thursday. “And I told him, ‘Dude, Grey Zabel, just watching him in this game and the torque and the power that he can play with, he is an elite guard now.’”

When the Seahawks drafted Zabel, there was hope and maybe even an expectation from football observers that the 6-foot-6, 316-pound North Dakota State product could eventually develop into one of the best players in the league at his position. But according to Jeremiah, he’s already there, well ahead of schedule.

“This is not, oh, he’s going to end up being one of the better guards in the league. He is one of the better guards in the league right now with what he did (against Atlanta),” Jeremiah said.

Catch Daniel Jeremiah weekly on Brock and Salk, typically at 8:30 a.m. each Tuesday. Brock and Salk is live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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