Following ten Pittsburgh Steelers training camp practices and Monday’s off day to catch our breath, it’s as good a chance as any to take inventory of the team’s rookie offensive linemen. The story of the team’s draft and offseason was an approach to old-school football, reinvesting in their front five and maximizing the running game. Offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier were the team’s top two selections, while they triple-dipped with fourth-round guard Mason McCormick.
So, how have they looked through the first two weeks of camp? Here’s my evaluation of all three. Reminder: It’s early, and the team hasn’t even played a game, so evaluations could change ahead of the regular season.
Troy Fautanu
He’s exclusively worked at right tackle and primarily worked with the second team. Still, Fautanu has received a handful of first-team right tackle reps. I don’t have the exact number, but if I had to estimate, a dozen sounds like a ballpark number.
As for his play, it’s been quality. Fautanu may have been knocked for not having “tackle size” due to his height but he has a big and powerful lower half that allows him to explode out of his stance. His kickset is smooth and he’s able to quickly get depth, making him hard to beat around the edge. Nick Herbig and even T.J. Watt have had trouble cornering against him.
Watt praised Fautanu for varying up his pass sets, something we noted about his game shortly after the Steelers drafted him. With 30 career college starts and an older prospect, Fautanu brought a more refined game with tricks of the trade, like mixing up pass sets to keep rushers off-balanced. Overall, he’s looked comfortable in Pat Meyer’s scheme, though interior linemen tend to have a steeper learning curve than tackles. He’s a good hand fighter able to work independent hands on his punch.
As a run blocker, Fautanu has looked capable, though I admit it’s been harder to judge him and any other linemen in the run game compared to pass protection, where there are more 1v1s and more space to judge instead of a sea of bodies to pick through.
Though the same can be said for the rest of the Steelers linemen, Fautanu has been durable and available for each practice.
The negatives are narrow. He’s had at least two false starts that caused him to take a lap. In pass protection, his biggest flaw is getting beat to the inside. Fautanu is often eager to defend the edge, making him vulnerable to opening his hips and struggling to redirect inside. This is not due to a lack of athleticism, but his technique could be cleaned up.
Overall, I’ve been happy with the start of his Steelers career. Will he start Week 1? It’s messy and hard for me to say. Based on what we’ve seen before any preseason action, his play and talent warrant it. But in Pittsburgh, that doesn’t always mean it’s going to happen.
Zach Frazier
Frazier fell into the Steelers’ lap in the second round, a talent, value, and need impossible to pass up. The most experienced center in the draft, Frazier had a promising outlook to start Week 1.
His first few days of camp were bumpy, with a couple of poor snaps in the early going. But to his credit, he’s cleaned them up, and there haven’t been issues over the past week. In 11 on 11, Frazier’s nasty demeanor is evident. He has multiple pancakes in these periods, driving his feet and looking to finish reps. In one play, he buried LB Payton Wilson. On another, it looked like DL DeMarvin Leal he put down on a screen play. You have to love the attitude and tone he sets.
In 1v1s, Frazier has taken his lumps. Montravius Adams schooled him one day while NT Breiden Fehoko bull-rushed him back. Evaluating bull and power rushes 1v1 is a little tricky. It’s unreasonable to expect an offensive lineman not to give any ground, but Fehoko has still gotten under his pads. When Frazier is able to make first contact, he has the base and strength to win early.
While it’s far too early for any conclusions, I do have some level of concern that Frazier’s athletic limitations put him into the “overachiever” camp of fighting hard and scrapping but losing out to defensive tackles with high-end physical traits. Guys who are explosive, long, and big, of which there are many in the NFL. My comp to Frazier coming out was Ben Jones. A good player but not a great one. And that’s Frazier if he hits his ceiling. Right now, there’s a ways to go to get there.
Mason McCormick
McCormick has worked second-team left guard throughout camp. He’s had a handful of first-team reps on days starter Isaac Seumalo has been off or been limited, but second-year Spencer Anderson has absorbed the majority of those opportunities. It hasn’t happened in the team period, but McCormick has snapped as a center in some very early warmup work with the quarterbacks. So there’s still an appetite to give him a look there, even after drafting Frazier.
McCormick was at his most impressive during yesterday’s practice. Three excellent and aggressive pass protection reps versus Logan Lee in 1v1s that allowed him to move up to the major leagues and face Cam Heyward. McCormick predictably struggled, including getting burned by a Heyward spin on their third rep, but the fact McCormick was given the “call-up” speaks loudly about his level of play.
There’s no question he is country-strong. You can’t go through him, only around him, and his anchor stalls out bullrushes that aren’t from Cam Heyward. I’ve had concerns about McCormick needing to adjust his technique under Pat Meyer, but he looks comfortable with his on-body/off-body pass sets Meyer teaches. We’ll have to see it in-game but it’s a quicker acceleration than many other new offensive guards.
His run blocking has created movement up front, and he’s shown the ability to sustain his blocks.
Overall, McCormick has had a good start, though I’m eager to learn more once he and the others get inside stadiums. I still think McCormick’s game could be up-and-down throughout the preseason, but if not, it’ll be a promising sign for his chance to start in 2025. He could even enter 2024 as the top backup guard.
