There are a few positions that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been known for over the years, but perhaps none with a richer tradition than center. It seems like they may have found another good one in rookie Zach Frazier.
“After watching the Steelers’ offense and this performance against Atlanta, it became pretty apparent that the only fun part of the whole offense was watching Zach Frazier play and just how he plays,” said former NFL OL Brian Baldinger on X. “…How many knockdowns can you get in a day?”
Baldinger’s post on X had a caption that included “Mike Webster would be proud of Zach’s debut.” Webster’s son replied to Baldinger on X and gave his stamp of approval.
“I just started counting the takedowns, the knockdowns, the pancakes. It was one after another,” Baldinger said. “This is fun. Finally, the offense became interesting to watch.”
I broke down Frazier’s NFL debut in a film room, and Baldinger’s clip shows a lot of the plays I wrote about. I counted six true pancakes, but there were several more plays where Frazier either threw a lineman to the side and onto his knees or otherwise had a hand in a defensive lineman ending up on the ground. I truly lost count throughout his 69 total snaps played.
This offseason, Omar Khan said the Steelers owed it to themselves to find the next great Steelers center. Frazier obviously has a long way to go to live up to those expectations, but it was about as good of a debut as he could have had.
The tradition of great centers in Pittsburgh dates way back. Two Hall of Famers at the position held down the middle of the Steelers’ offensive line for 25-straight seasons from 1976 to 2000. Webster passed the torch to Dermontti Dawson, and Dawson passed the torch to Jeff Hartings, who was very solid for six seasons in Pittsburgh.
It was only a few years later that the Steelers drafted Maurkice Pouncey, who was a Pro Bowler nine times. He received honors in every season other than 2013 when he was injured for all but one game. That makes almost 45 continuous seasons with high-level center play in Pittsburgh.
It definitely hit a rough patch after Pouncey retired with Kendrick Green and Mason Cole being the centers for three seasons, but Frazier seems to have what it takes to hold down the center position in Pittsburgh for the next decade.
