While the Cleveland Browns are likely to take the best available talent at No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, they also have the luxury of four picks in the top 100 in the upcoming draft.
That's a huge deal for a team like Cleveland with cap space restraints and several key positional groups that'll need affordable depth added. Groups like the running back room, in the secondary, and on the offensive line will need depth through the draft to get younger and healthier headed into 2025.
Offensive line is going to be of great need to several teams seeking to revamp their offense headed into 2025, and the Browns are one of those teams. They could use youth and consistency to protect whoever they sign at quarterback this offseason, especially with key linemen like Joel Bitonio and Jack Conklin potentially becoming cap casualties.
One IOL draft prospect that's apparently begun to stand out as a steal this coming April is Grey Zabel out of North Dakota State University.
Grey Zabel has excellent showing at Senior Bowl
Per PFF's Trevor Sikkema and several other NFL writers attending the Senior Bowl and surrounding activities, Zabel stood out amongst all offensive lineman participating in the program's 1 on 1 challenge.
Sikkema posted video to his Twitter account on Tuesday showing Zabel flexing his blocking abilities at three different positions on the line - left guard, right guard, and center. While the Browns seem to have a solid answer at center in Nick Harris, he is a free agent entering this offseason. Given the versatility of Zabel, he could be a great answer for the Browns at center.
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In addition, Sikkema shared that Zabel looked best at center during workouts ahead of the Senior Bowl. But, Cleveland could obviously utilize him to backup Bitonio at LG or to Wyatt Teller at RG.
Zabel's ability to begin to turn heads like this is exactly why mock drafting and big boards are going to constantly be in flux headed into April. Cleveland, however, has the major luxury of having two picks in the third round and a very early pick in the second round that they can utilize on talent like Zabel if they feel they need to shore up their depth on the O-line headed into the new season.
With Cleveland likely to go for a more impactful player at 2, like Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter, players like Zabel are the exact type they need to be targetting by the third round.