It may not have been with the same drink of choice, but many Seattle Seahawks fans were likely celebrating in a similar fashion to first-round draft pick Grey Zabel on Thursday night.

5 additional things to know about Seattle Seahawks’ top pick Grey Zabel

The Seahawks made Zabel, a guard out of North Dakota State, the 18th overall selection in this year’s NFL Draft. The newest Seahawk was considered among the best interior linemen in this year’s draft class, and he fills a glaring need on the interior of the line, which has long been a source of frustration for the fan base.

After he was picked, he delivered an all-time answer during a conference call with members of the Seattle media.

“Man, I’m probably gonna start diving into these Busch Lights,” Zabel said about what his plans were after learning he was drafted by Seattle.

Zabel joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Friday morning, and he dropped some more great quotes during a wide-ranging conversation.

Perhaps the most important question he answered: How man Busch Lights were consumed at the Zabel household on Thursday night?

“Man, we had a lot of fun,” Zabel said. “I know we ran out about halfway through and had to make a quick trip, but we enjoyed ourselves last night for sure.”

Here are a few things that stood out from the interview.

Steaks & Squats

Zabel measured in at 6 foot 6 and 312 pounds at the scouting combine. He was listed at 240 pounds on his 247Sports.com recuriting profile coming out out high school in 2020. That’s a gain of 72 pounds over a five-year period. When Zabel was asked if there was room for him to add on weight in the NFL, he confidently said “absolutely.”

“I think in my college career, I’d always be on a little bit of a lighter side to be more quicker, and agile, and faster and stuff,” said Zabel, who spent most of his time playing tackle over his final two college seasons. “But through this process, I was able to gain some weight because I knew I was going to have to play interior, so you got to be a little bit heavier.

“I mean, big thing about gaining weight is just steaks and squats. That’s all you got to do to put on some pounds.”

Gratefulness to NDSU

Zabel hails Pierre, S.D. It’s the state capital and located about as central as possible in South Dakota. So when Zabel ended up choosing North Dakota State over South Dakota and South Dakota State (the two other D-I FCS schools he had offers from), there were quite a few from his home state that were not very happy.

But as Zabel explained, his family’s farm was located further north, and as one gets closer to North Dakota, the more it becomes North Dakota State territory.

“I was kind of around it growing up and got to see the dynasties start to take place starting in 2011,” Zabel said of NDSU. “… There was a lot of (ticked) off Pierre people when I decided to go up north and not stay in state.”

Related: Bump and Brock’s reaction to Seattle Seahawks picking Zabel

Zabel certainly doesn’t regret that decision, though. He gave North Dakota State and its coaching staff plenty of credit for developing him from a zero-star recruit to a first-round draft pick.

“Unbelievably grateful that North Dakota State gave me an opportunity,” he said. “They saw something in me that most schools and bigger schools didn’t see, and they developed me into who I am today. So I’m forever in debt to them.”

Playing under head coach Tim Polasek at North Dakota State also gave Zabel a chance to familiarize himself a big with the outside-zone scheme new Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is set to run in Seattle.

“The biggest part is use your athletic ability to go and play ball and get out and run a little bit in outside zone,” Zabel said. “So I’m super excited to be a part of the Seahawks and the scheme that they do, and hopefully I get to kind of continue to showcase what I have.”

Senior Bowl experience

Zabel was one of the biggest risers at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. The small-school product got a chance to go toe-to-toe with some of the best competition in the country from the likes of the SEC and Big Ten, and he was named the Senior Bowl’s practice player of the week in a poll of 32 NFL executives who were at the event.

“All I wanted to do is go down there and just compete, and prove it and be a tough football player,” Zabel said. “Other than that, I had no idea how it was all going to play out, but I’m grateful that Jim Nagy sent me an invite to go down there and be able to showcase what I have and the skill set that I have.”

That showcase helped Zabel vault himself from potential Day 2 pick to a first-rounder.

“I think I showed my versatility, my hunger to be a good, physical offensive lineman, and then my ability to kind of improve throughout the week,” he said.

Zabel noted it was a step up in competition for him after spending his college career in the Missouri Valley Conference at the FCS level. But he feels his strengths allowed him to continue to excel despite the noticeably tougher opponents, and he even seemed to gain some confidence about his NFL prospects during the process.

“I noticed everything’s just got to be a little more locked in. You just got to be more precise with everything you do,” he said of what he learned from the experience. “If that’s your footwork, if that’s your hand placement, all that. And then at the end of the day, football is a physical game and you’re gonna have to be a physical football player.

“I think that’s what might be the biggest jump or might be the biggest issue that people struggle with is the physicality. But when that’s kind of one of your pillars of your foundation, it’s going to be hopefully a good transition to the next level.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks and the NFL Draft

• Stacy Rost: What does top pick Grey Zabel bring to Seattle Seahawks?
• NFL Draft: Josh Conerly Jr. of Rainier Beach picked in 1st round
• Steilacoom’s Emeka Egbuka taken in 1st round of NFL Draft
• NFL Draft: Former WSU QB Cam Ward is the No. 1 pick
• Seattle Seahawks’ Schneider reveals insight on trading during NFL Draft