Though he is listed as the backup at the center position and didn’t see action Friday night in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans until the third drive of the game, rookie second-round pick Zach Frazier could find himself in the starting lineup rather quickly.
At least, that’s how former Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive lineman Chris Hoke sees it.
Appearing on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call Friday night after the Steelers’ 20-12 loss to the Texans in what was a rather sloppy ffair, Hoke said he believes that Frazier is going to grab the starting job in the next few weeks due to a strong showing in his NFL debut as well as current starting center Nate Herbig’s issues on Friday night.
While two fumbled snaps can be attributed more to Fields than Herbig, it was still tough to see, leading to some criticism from head coach Mike Tomlin, whereas Frazier didn’t have any issues.
“I think you’re going to see Zach Frazier start to get more snaps with the first team. Not only because QB-C exchange but I think also [because] Nate Herbig got knocked off the ball a little bit in the middle. You have to be stout. You have to be strong in the middle,” Hoke said, according to video via KDKA-TV. “The very first play Zach Frazier comes in, he bulldozes, knocks the tackle off and climbs up to the linebacker and [the play] goes for like a 6- or 7-yard run.
“He played pretty well so I think you’re going to start to see Zach Frazier take some more [first-team] snaps and I think he’ll secure that spot in the next few weeks.”
Throughout training camp Frazier has been running behind Herbig, who has quietly had a very strong camp. But the snap-exchange issues with Fields on Friday night drew the ire of Tomlin and could have opened the door even further for Frazier to ascend into the starting role.
It helps that Frazier played well in his debut, too. Right away he was moving defenders in the run game, clearing running lanes for the Steelers.
Against the Texans in his NFL debut, Frazier played 39 snaps, the second-most of any offensive player for the Black and Gold. He graded out at a 73.5 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 73.0 in pass protection and a 72.2 as a run blocker.
He did not allow a single pressure in pass protection, either.
While he’s had some issues in training camp handling power in pass protection, the run blocking has been as advertised, and it showed up again on Friday night.
Sooner rather than later, Zach Frazier will force his way into the starting role at center. That’s what he was drafted for. It just might be sooner than the Steelers anticipated after some struggles by Herbig against the Texans.
