He has played just one NFL season, but it already appears that the Pittsburgh Steelers are set for the foreseeable future with Zach Frazier at center.
Coming off a first-team All-Rookie season and winning the franchise’s Joe Greene Award as the best rookie, Frazier already finds himself as a key building block for the Black and Gold. He might be one of the best young interior offensive line building blocks in the NFL, too.
For NFL.com’s Nick Shook, that’s the case. In his All-Under 25 team he picked for the site Tuesday, Frazier was the clear-cut choice at center.
“Frazier has just one NFL campaign under his belt but gave the Steelers the kind of reliability they’ve lacked from the ultra-important center position since Maurkice Pouncey’s last season in 2020, registering a top-five offensive grade among all centers last season, per PFF,” Shook writes. “Frazier followed in Pouncey’s footsteps by earning the team’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, the first time it was given to a center since Pouncey received it in 2010, suggesting the Steelers have finally found their successor at the pivot.
“General manager Omar Khan has effectively rebuilt the Pittsburgh offensive line in short order, and Frazier seems like the best choice of all, with many years of success ahead of him.”
That many years of success ahead of him line from Shook is the general consensus with Frazier. That’s a testament to not only his talent level, but also how he performed as a rookie, making the jump from West Virginia to the NFL look rather seamless.
Longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly, during a previous appearance on 93.7 The Fan, said he believes Frazier will be an 8-to-10 time Pro Bowler, and should receive multiple All-Pro accolades. That’s lofty expectations for Frazier, but that’s a sign of how good he was last season stepping in as the starting center and solidifying the role in Pittsburgh.
Throughout their history, the Steelers have typically had great center play. Names like Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson, Jeff Hartings and Maurkice Pouncey come to mind. Frazier is clearly the next in line.
As part of a major rebuild in the trenches under GM Omar Khan, Frazier is the key foundational piece for the Black and Gold. Though Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu were drafted higher, Frazier might be the best of the bunch.
He’s a powerful run blocker and was very good in pass protection last season, allowing just one sack when the Cleveland Browns stunted Myles Garrett into him in Week 12. Tough matchup for a center there against maybe the best pass rusher in football.
Moving forward, the future is incredibly bright for Frazier. He might not have been ranked among the best interior linemen in football, but he’ll be there eventually. The Steelers landed a terrific player.