Pittsburgh Steelers rookie center Zach Frazier had an impressive debut against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, and former Steelers defensive lineman and current analyst Chris Hoke thinks he’ll be a building block for the Steelers for years to come. On The Joe Starkey Show on 93.7 The Fan, Hoke said that the Steelers can build their offensive line “from the middle out” with Frazier at center.
“He was tough at the point of attack. I saw a stat that he had 29 pass snaps. He gave up zero pressures, he gave up zero hits to the quarterback, zero sacks, zero hurries. And to be a rookie and be able to play like that, and Grady Jarrett had a great game, he was as explosive as I’ve seen him. And he played well against him and the other guys. In the run game he was physical. He’s a guy that I think they can really build on their offensive line from the middle out for the next decade,” Hoke said.
Outside of two snap exchanges that went awry with Justin Fields under center, it was a really impressive debut from Frazier. He showed off his power with a number of pancakes and didn’t allow the interior of Atlanta’s defensive line to take over the game.
While Pittsburgh has focused on building outside-in with its last two first-round picks being offensive tackles, the team has focused on the interior of its offensive line in free agency. Signing James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo has given them one of the best guard tandems in the league, but Daniels is due to hit free agency this offseason and the Steelers could look to slide in Spencer Anderson or Mason McCormick to his right guard spot assuming he heads elsewhere.
Under Omar Khan and Andy Weidl, building up the trenches has been a major focus, with five offensive linemen selected in the last two drafts, and Frazier could be the next great Steelers center, allowing the team to have stability at that position for a long time. Regardless of how they choose to attack building out the rest of the line, Hoke’s point is more so that the Steelers won’t have to worry about the center position if Frazier can turn into a rock in the middle.
It’s only been one NFL game so you don’t want to overreact too much, but it was really good to see out of Frazier, especially facing one of the best defensive linemen in the league in Grady Jarrett for a lot of the game. Hopefully, Frazier can build on that effort throughout the season and cement himself as the Steelers’ long-term solution at center.
