The Pittsburgh Steelers awarded second-round C Zach Frazier with their Rookie of the Year honor yesterday. It was well-deserved, but also very much expected—perhaps even more so than for their first-round pick. Unlike with Troy Fautanu, there was no practical guarantee he would be a Day-1 starter.
The Steelers obviously didn’t anoint Frazier off the bat, paying lip service to Nate Herbig as a potential starter, but even Herbig knew the writing was on the wall. Even as a second-round pick, Frazier entered his rookie season facing sky-high expectations. While accepting his award yesterday, he explained how he handled that pressure, following the likes of Maurkice Pouncey.
“I’m just focused on how I can be the best every day”, Frazier said, via the Steelers’ website. “I don’t really look ahead. I just take everything day by day, practice by practice. If you look ahead at those things, you can get off track, so I’m just trying not to look ahead”.
Many fans actually hoped the Steelers might draft Zach Frazier, or at least another center, in the first round. And they very well might have had the opportunity to draft Fautanu not arisen. Yet with Fautanu, the Steelers had two incumbent starters. In Frazier’s case, Nate Herbig was just the best guy currently on the roster.
And let’s not kid ourselves: the Steelers themselves set the expectations sky-high. GM Omar Khan made no bones about the fact that they were looking for their next great center. They never sufficiently replaced Pouncey, trying Kendrick Green before moving to Mason Cole. After releasing Cole in the offseason, they were bound to do something. And they didn’t hesitate to draft Zach Frazier when the opportunity stared them in the face.
The Steelers didn’t want to rush it, though, leaving Nate Herbig to run with the first-team offense for most of the offseason. Frazier himself admits it took a few games into the regular season for things to click. But he really has had a fine rookie season, even if not quite with Pro Bowl accolades (I assume).
For what it’s worth, Frazier has already gotten the Maurkice Pouncey endorsement. In his hands, the Steelers knew they had the center position secure for a decade, at least when healthy. They hope to have similar fortunes for the West Virginia man, from their own proverbial backyard.
We still don’t know what path his career will take, and chances are he’ll have some better years than others. That’s just how things go sometimes. But for now, all we can say is Zach Frazier is giving Steelers fans something to look forward to.
With Frazier, Mason McCormick, and Troy Fautanu, the Steelers intend to make sure their offensive line is a driving force well into the future. That’s the plan, anyway, and outside of Fautanu’s injury, it’s off to a solid start. How this young group steps into Year 2 and beyond, though, will be even more important.
