Pittsburgh Steelers Exit Meeting: OC Zach Frazier
Experience: 1 Year
A Day 1 rookie starter, Zach Frazier lived up to the Steelers’ expectations. Or perhaps that’s still in the air. After all, they went into the past offseason set on acquiring their next great center. Frazier has shown the potential to be a great center but might not quite be in that category yet.
Taken in the second round out of West Virginia, Frazier started every game for which he was healthy. An injury did rob him of two games in the middle of the season, but he still played 976 snaps. The Steelers got plenty of quality play out of him for that, but he still has room to grow.
The entire offensive line is growing, and that’s no surprise. Going into 2025, the Steelers project to start three second-year players and a third-year player. That includes Zach Frazier, Troy Fautanu, and Mason McCormick from the 2024 draft class. Broderick Jones returns from the 2023 class, Isaac Seumalo rounding things out at left guard.
Seumalo, recently named to his first Pro Bowl as an alternate, was a big help to Frazier during his rookie season. The rookie was highly complimentary in general of the Steelers’ veterans, who took him under their wing.
More than perhaps any other organization, the Steelers put a premium on the center position. They already have two centers in the Hall of Fame, and Maurkice Pouncey could join them one day. It might be a touch too early to put Zach Frazier in that discussion, but at least he isn’t Kendrick Green or Mason Cole, their other post-Pouncey options.
Of course, they don’t always get it right off the bat. Following Dermontti Dawson, the Steelers signed Jeff Hartings. In between him and Pouncey, they had to get through Sean Mahan and Justin Hartwig. Between Pouncey and Frazier were Green and Cole.
The young center does look capable of being the Steelers’ answer at the position for some years. He can block for the run as equally well as he can work in pass protection. While he clearly has the requisite strength, he can also move around when needed.
It’s possible that Zach Frazier and some other rookies tired out at the end of the season. Steelers HC Mike Tomlin suggested as much, but they will need him playing 1,200ish snaps going forward. As long as he stays healthy, he should be up to the task.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at home, the inevitable result of another early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, with no clear end in sight. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we will go down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
