The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to protect the football again this week, and that helped lead them to a win. However, they still made mistakes. The Broncos biggest opportunity came when Zach Frazier snapped the ball before Justin Fields was ready. Jaylen Warren recovered the ball, and everything was fine, but it almost proved costly. Despite that mistake, Frazier still seems to feel good about his progress.
Appearing on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call show, Frazier was asked about his comfort level in only his second game.
“I feel comfortable out there,” Frazier said. “It’s definitely slowing down and I’m feeling more and more comfortable.”
Frazier was an experienced player in college, participating in 47 games over four years, so even though he’s a rookie, he’s still got a lot of experience under his belt. It’s showed early on, with his level of play not matching that of a typical rookie. It’s only been two games, but Frazier has been a mauler so far.
That doesn’t mean he’s been perfect, though. There were some issues with exchanges between Frazier and Justin Fields in Week 1, and that fumbled snap against the Broncos could have been costly. It’s unclear if that issue was completely Frazier’s fault, but the Steelers won’t keep getting so lucky with those gaffs. He’s still a rookie, though, and it sounds like he’s settling in more as time goes on.
The Steelers are going to need Frazier to stay comfortable, too. They’ve made it clear through two weeks that their offensive identity is running the football, and Frazier has been a big part of that. Frazier might not have even played yet had Nate Herbig not gotten injured, but he’s answered the call so far.
There are still a lot of games left, so we’ll see if Frazier can continue with his positive performances and clean up some of the snapping issues. The Steelers have been in desperate need of a quality center since Maurkice Pouncey retired, and they would be thrilled if Frazier could fill that role. He may never be the same caliber of player that Pouncey was, but he’s been good enough so far. We’ll see how he develops as time goes on.
