There’s a quiet kind of heartbreak in Seattle that no one really talks about. Steve Hutchinson—Hall of Famer, five-time All-Pro, pillar of the best offensive line this team ever had—is the only Seahawks HoF-er to not have his jersey (No. 76) hung in the rafters. Instead, two decades later, that same number has found its way into the hands of a 23-year-old rookie. The decision came from Erik Kennedy, the Seahawks’ equipment boss for 36 years and a man who’s been through enough rebuilds to recognize quality when it’s staring him in the face. But it wasn’t handed over lightly. Kennedy called Hutch first. And Hutch—still plugged into this team despite the way he left—gave it his full blessing.

Funny thing? The Seahawks GM almost got it completely wrong at first. Back in January at the Senior Bowl, John Schneider was watching practice when he overheard Hutchinson and VP Trent Kirchner talking about some lineman struggling with his confidence. At first, Schneider, thinking they meant Zabel, turned his attention to the kid from North Dakota State. Within minutes, he realized he couldn’t have been more off. “I’m watching the practice and I’m like ‘This guy’s not struggling at all! You guys are crazy!'” Schneider laughed later.

On Draft night, Zabel became the first interior offensive lineman drafted in the first round by John Schneider in his 14-year tenure as GM. He was also the first IOL taken by the Seahawks in Round 1 since Hutchinson himself. The pick broke several franchise norms: Zabel played in the FCS, not the Power Five; he wasn’t a consensus Day 1 projection; and he wasn’t even the biggest name at his position. But Hutch saw past all of that. He met with Zabel again at the Combine, vouched for him internally, and helped push him to the top of Seattle’s draft board. Then came the final stamp: a mentorship, a jersey number, and a quietly thunderous passing of the torch. On April 30, the Seahawks announced the jersey numbers assigned to their 11 rookies. The number 76 may not hang above Lumen Field, but its legacy now lives on the shoulders of a rookie handpicked to wear it. But not everyone’s sold.

Brandon Mebane, a former Seahawks staple on the other side of the trenches, didn’t hold back. “I’m not in love with the pick. If we’re going to the school that he went to, let’s look at the level of competition that he’s seeing week in and week out, right?” he said on the Reset podcast. He continued, “The division that they are in? Are they going against the BIG10, SEC, ACC, and my former conference, the PAC-10? No. He’s not going against that type of competition. I don’t think he went against the level of competition to give him worthy enough for me to put him as a first-rounder.” Mebane’s no loudmouth pundit. He’s a PAC-10 (now PAC-12) guy from Cal, a Super Bowl champ, and one of the last great guardians of Seattle’s old-school Legion of Boom toughness. To him, Zabel’s résumé doesn’t match the moment.

But maybe that’s exactly the point. Zabel didn’t grow up in a football factory. He didn’t walk into the Senior Bowl with a headline. He built his case rep by rep. Zabel was everywhere—jumping the line, stealing reps, locking horns with Power 5 edge rushers like he had a personal vendetta. That week in Mobile, the 18th overall pick of the 2025 draft didn’t lose a single one-on-one rep, including matchups against NFL-bound defenders from programs like Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, and Florida.

Fun fact: Ironically, the story of Steve Hutchinson’s number—now on Zabel’s shoulders—may hold the key to understanding the complicated dynamic. No. 76 isn’t retired, despite Hutchinson’s Hall of Fame resume, and some believe that traces back to his acrimonious exit from Seattle. In 2006, after an agonising loss in Super Bowl XL, he bolted for Minnesota after signing a $49 million deal with a poison pill clause. If he wasn’t the highest-paid lineman on his team, the contract went from $16 million guaranteed to fully guaranteed—language so aggressive it made it impossible for Seattle to match without blowing up their cap. The fallout was so bad, the NFL literally rewrote its rulebook. Poison pills were banned forever. And though Hutch eventually made peace with the team, that jersey stayed in limbo—a quiet reminder of what could’ve been.

Zabel made the All-Senior Bowl team, despite coming from a smaller school, and finished his NDSU career having allowed just 4 sacks in over 2,400 offensive snaps. Mebane’s concerns about competition aren’t baseless—but Zabel didn’t just survive the leap to elite competition that week. He owned it. And just putting it out there, Josh Allen didn’t face top-tier competition at Wyoming either. Yet he stands tall today, reigning NFL MVP, $330 million contract in tow.

It’s strange symmetry. A player whose exit triggered a league-wide rule change is now shaping the future of Seattle’s line from behind the scenes. And the rookie he championed now wears the number Seattle never retired.

From HoF hands to rookie shoulders: The weight of Steve Hutchinson’s 76

Mebane is entitled to his opinion. But let’s not forget, it was Steve Hutchinson who scouted Zabel. And if a Seahawks legend like Hutch has faith in the rookie, that’s got to count for something. HC Michael Macdonald and GM Schneider both saw Zabel on the gridiron, and the latter was convinced they would draft him. “He literally couldn’t wait. He was taking reps at center, left guard, and right guard,” recalled Schneider. After the Senior Bowl, Hutchinson met Zabel again at the scouting combine. By that time, he had already convinced the Seahawks’ brass that the NDSU alum was their offensive guy. Guard and center were the positions the team needed to address, and Zabel fit the bill.

Over the past four months, Zabel has developed a close bond with Hutchinson. The 23-year-old sees the former guard as his mentor. “Yeah, Hutch has been awesome throughout this experience… He’s been a real mentor this past week. And being able to ask him all the questions that a rookie or a new guy has has been unbelievable. I’m super grateful for him,” shared Zabel last week.

Now expectations aren’t just high — they’re historic. Grey Zabel isn’t just trying to win a starting spot. He’s walking into the cleats of the last interior lineman the Seahawks ever trusted this much on draft night. The same one whose jersey still lingers in limbo between glory and silence. Steve Hutchinson gave Zabel his number, his mentorship, and his backing. What happens next? That part’s on the rookie. But in a city where numbers tell stories, 76 finally has a new chapter waiting to be written.