Is Zach Frazier Pittsburgh’s “next great Steelers center”?
The Pittsburgh Steelers felt they could hold off on the center position in the first round in April, but they made sure to get their man in the second round. They did allow Zach Frazier to fall to them, but probably would have moved up if they were that worried.
Now that he’s in the building, the question is simple: Is he the “next great Steelers center”? That’s what they set out to answer this offseason, according to general manager Omar Khan. They obviously chose Frazier as their candidate, passing on Graham Barton and Jackson Powers-Johnson in the first round.
Both Barton and Powers-Johnson came off the board before the Steelers’ second-round pick. We don’t know if they would have chosen either of them over Frazier when they were picking a center. Perhaps they might have, particularly in the case of Barton, but they seemed plenty pleased to land Frazier.
While he should be an upgrade from Kendrick Green and Mason Cole, however, we’ll have to see who Frazier is. Does he step into the lineage of Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson, Jeff Hartings and Maurkice Pouncey?
That’s a tall order, but that’s “the standard” for the center position in Pittsburgh. They haven’t gotten that standard from that spot for the past few years, arguably even at the end of Pouncey’s career. Frazier isn’t quite the same player as Dawson or Pouncey, either. But he brings his own attributes to the table.
Pouncey started right away, and I think that needs to be the standard for Frazier. No, Webster didn’t start right away, but the game was different back then, and they had Ray Mansfield. If Frazier doesn’t start over Nate Herbig, who is not naturally a center and not typically a starter, that’s a concern. After all, he got plenty of playing time at the college level. He shouldn’t need much of a learning curve.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
