Player: C Zach Frazier
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Zach Frazier might be the only player on the offense anybody is speaking about positively right now. With Nate Herbig’s season-ending injury, the rookie is all but assured a starting job. Even with the injury, he has earned the right to start and probably would have started anyway. The only difference now is there really isn’t anybody to look over his shoulder.
The Steelers entered the offseason seeking their next great center. They frustrated fans by not landing one in free agency, but Zach Frazier eased their nerves. He has only continued to provide a calming effect—probably one of the few players on offense not causing people to worry.
A second-round pick out of West Virginia, Zach Frazier is a plug-and-play center. He has ample college experience at the position and has proven he has the size, talent, intelligence, and athleticism to compete right away at the NFL level.
Technically speaking, Nate Herbig’s season-ending injury doesn’t give the Steelers much choice, but the reality is Frazier was trending toward winning the starting job anyway. Last week, he held his own as arguably the lone bright spot in a dismal offensive performance.
The week before, they couldn’t even get a quarterback-center exchange off cleanly. They had no such hiccups under Zach Frazier’s watch. While he did not have a perfect game by any means, he certainly represented himself well.
As long as he holds his own during the preseason finale, the only question left is the regular-season test. The Steelers started Kendrick Green at center as a rookie, so fair is fair. Zach Frazier absolutely deserves this opportunity to start right away and deserves lenience for any potential growing pains.
After all, the Steelers drafted him to be this guy, and I’m sure they hoped he would show it early enough. Frazier didn’t exactly draw rave reviews during OTAs, but it’s hard for linemen to impress without pads. Since training camp, he has been one of the most consistent players on the team, and the arrow is still pointing up.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
