Both OG Spencer Anderson and C Zach Frazier will be making their first NFL start on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, and for Frazier, it’ll be his first appearance in an NFL regular-season game. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is comfortable with both ahead of Week 1, saying that the Steelers wouldn’t play them if they didn’t have “faith” in either.
“They’ve done a good job this point. I’ve got a lot of confidence. Again, until you get in in the stadiums, and it’s a first time for everybody, so you know, everybody’s been in that position. So, I’ve got a lot of confidence in them. And now we’ve got to go do it, do it for real when there’s consequences and keeping scores. We got a lot of faith, and we wouldn’t put them out there if we didn’t,” Smith said via transcript provided by the team.
Ever since the Steelers took Frazier in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the expectation was that he would start at center, and that became a reality after Nate Herbig suffered a season-ending injury. Anderson was thrust into the starting lineup after Isaac Seumalo suffered a pectoral injury in practice last week, and he played just two offensive snaps last season as a rookie.
At least for Frazier, he’s been the team’s starting center since the team’s second preseason game so he’s had experience working with the first-team offense in practice. Anderson will have less time to get acclimated, but he did get a lot of reps in with the first teamers during training camp when Seumalo got a rest day. But it’s different going up against a new opponent, a “nameless, gray face” as Mike Tomlin would put it, especially in a road environment.
Both Frazier and Anderson will have a lot of eyes on them in their first real taste of NFL action. Hopefully, both can protect whoever is at quarterback for the Steelers on Sunday and pave the way for a strong performance on the ground. Smith is confident that they can, but there’s no doubt it’s going to be a big test for both as they look to make an impact for a Steelers team that needs to get off to a strong start this season.
The offensive line as a whole is a question mark heading into the game after a shaky performance by Broderick Jones in the preseason and questions about Dan Moore Jr. after struggling over the last few seasons. Anderson and Frazier will have added pressure due to their inexperience, and it’s going to be interesting to see how they perform.
