The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 draft class was universally praised as being one of the best in terms of value and filling positions of need. There is still plenty to be excited about, but Troy Fautanu, Roman Wilson, and Payton Wilson have all suffered various minor injuries that have tempered the excitement throughout the preseason a bit. But second-round C Zach Frazier has lived up to the hype and then some.
“The Steelers took Frazier in the second round to anchor their offensive line for the next decade. He looked like a player worthy of that billing against the Lions on Saturday,” wrote NFL.com’s Chad Reuter, giving Frazier an ‘A’ grade for his performance in the preseason finale.
Over the last couple weeks, Frazier has gone from a rookie competing for the starting job to the unquestioned starter with high expectations to hold down the middle of the offensive line. Veteran OL Nate Herbig suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and there isn’t a great backup currently on the roster.
Frazier played 103 total snaps on offense in the preseason, and capped things with a stellar performance against the Detroit Lions on Saturday afternoon. He only played 19 snaps, but he made his presence known with a few key blocks.
Cordarrelle Patterson’s 31-yard touchdown run was through the hole between Frazier and Isaac Seumalo. Seumalo chipped the 2-tech defensive lineman allowing Frazier to reach block. He wasn’t able to get his full body around, but he landed his punches in the perfect spots to latch on and neutralize the defender in the hole. That allowed Patterson to get to the second level where he made a defender miss on his way to a score.
“On the second series, Frazier dominated against a linebacker on a run play, pancaked nose tackle Brodric Martin on another and then showed excellent feet to get a blocking angle on Martin on a goal-line run,” Reuter wrote. “Frazier showed the athleticism to block in space for a receiver screen early on and finished every play with attitude. It was an impressive performance.”
Frazier was viewed as a high-floor player coming out of college, and he is already showing that in his rookie preseason. His technique has been great and his ability to land his punches and latch onto defenders has shown on the tape in each of the three preseason games.
Pro Football focus gave Frazier a 76.4 overall grade against the Lions. In 51 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed zero pressures and posted an impressive 82.3 grade in that area of his game.
Teammates and coaches alike have praised Frazier’s maturity and his ability to transition from college to the NFL. Before the draft, Omar Khan said the Steelers owed it to themselves to find the next great Steelers center. The bar is high in Pittsburgh, but the early trendline is pointing straight up for Frazier and the future of the center position.
