The Pittsburgh Steelers beefed up the trenches this offseason with draft selections such as Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier. Of all the team’s draft picks, Frazier has the most obvious and immediate path to a starting job. Put simply, he plays center, and they hardly have a center, so they’re kind of banking on him playing.
Not only that, they’re counting on him delivering in a big way in the run game. They are on the record as wanting to turn the ball over to the running backs under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. And Frazier comes into the league with a reputation as a road grader out of West Virginia. His college offensive line coach agrees.
“I think run game-wise, he’s gonna be exactly what they want”, Matt Moore told Joe Starkey Paul Zeise on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. He talked about Frazier’s exceptional play strength and cited one play in particular that we highlighted yesterday.
The problem, such that there is one, is that he still needs to prove himself to some degree in pass protection. Blocking pass rushers is usually the bigger jump for linemen going from college to the pros, and Moore understands that.
“He’s just got to show them on 3rd and long that he can shore up an athletic pass-rush situation”, he said of Frazier, “where they bring either a d-end or a three-technique and put him over the center and show them that he can handle that”.
Frazier is a hardworking player who is always looking for work when he’s on the field. With that said, he can stand to benefit from some NFL coaching when it comes to handling pro pass-rush concepts. One hopes that’s what Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer is going to provide, of course.
But the line as a whole should have a more immediate impact in the run game. In addition to Zach Frazier, it’s probably the stronger aspect of Broderick Jones’ game as well. Isaac Seumalo is a plus run blocker, too, but he also really knows what he’s doing in pass protection. James Daniels does offer more in the passing game than in the run game.
But playing next to a physically imposing player like Frazier can help not just Daniels but the whole line. We’re probably not going to see Arthur Smith running him on a pull very often, but he’s more than capable of getting to the second level.
As some have suggested, the happiest people in Pittsburgh about Zach Frazier are probably the running backs. Both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are going to enjoy running behind a center with that kind of physicality.
Especially after spending their careers dodging defenders in the backfield, they might finally get to the line of scrimmage unscathed every so often. That’s one of the reasons the Steelers committed to improving their offensive line in recent seasons. And this may be the year that it all finally starts paying real dividends.
