Grey Zabel earns Seahawks honor over Nick Emmanwori from ESPN

The Seattle Seahawks are 12-3 and sit atop the NFC West and have a strong chance to land the top seed in the conference. It's thanks to a lot of new faces as well.

While Sam Darnold, Demarcus Lawrence, and the breakout of Jaxon Smith-Njigba have been the highlights, the rookie class has also played a huge role in the Seahawks playing so well this season.

Nick Emmanwori has impressed, and yet, ESPN writer Brady Henderson named a different Seahawks rookie as the team's Rookie of the Year for 2025.

Grey Zabel named Seahawks' rookie of the year by ESPN

"Zabel was the Seahawks' highest-rated interior offensive lineman prospect, and the 18th pick has shown why." Henderson writes. "This distinction could just as easily go to second-round pick Nick Emmanwori..."

But, instead of handing the honor to Emmanwori, who has very strong NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds, Zabel earned the honor from ESPN for one main reason: availability.

So far this season, while both have been great, Emmanwori has missed three full games and was hurt for a large portion of a fourth. Zabel, meanwhile, has played every game and has played nearly 99% of the offensive snaps this season.

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Both have been great for the Seahawks this season, and either could've been justified to earn this honor. But, for Zabel, his constant contributions have led the star rookie lineman to earn the distinction as Seattle's best rookie this season.

Zabel has locked down the interior of the offensive line, and while the Seahawks defensive back has been one of the flashiest rookies this season, Zabel's impact on the Seahawks offense isa huge one.

Both have a case to be the team's rookie of the year, but if choosing just one, Henderson is going with Zabel, thanks in part to his availability this season.

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