Zach Frazier felt like a Steelers player long before they drafted him, and his rookie season only solidified that fact. As a Day 1 starter, he showed a base level of professionalism that never wavered. He also displayed his physicality, his grit, and his toughness, particularly amid injury.
While Mason Rudolph wasn’t with the Steelers in 2024 for Frazier’s rookie season, he sees what everyone has in him. Before Aaron Rodgers signed, he also got to work with Frazier extensively with the first-team offense the past two weeks.
“He’s a great dude. He’s a former wrestler, so he’s a versatile guy,” Rudolph said of Frazier, via the Steelers’ website. “Not a big talker — you’ve kind of got to pry to get words out of him. But he doesn’t seem like a guy going into his second year. He seems like a mature veteran already.”
It doesn’t hurt that Zach Frazier was a very experienced college player, with 47 games under his belt. The Steelers leaned heavily into experience with their three offensive line selections a year ago. That’s one of the reasons they were ready to play when they needed them last year, including fourth-round Mason McCormick. Of course, they only got 50-some-odd snaps out of Troy Fautanu, but that wasn’t his fault.
Outside of two games missed due to an ankle injury, Zach Frazier logged every snap for the Steelers. He played 976 in all, benefitting from a bye during his injury. While he had some rookie moments, and he and Justin Fields had some communication issues, he rarely drew attention to himself, which is what you want in an offensive lineman.
Soft-spoken and a man of few words, as Rudolph said, Frazier is just about his business. But hopefully, similar to David DeCastro, as he gains experience, he will also gain comfort. On the field, he is already a leader of the group, but he can lead in the meeting room, as well.
Realistically, the Steelers don’t have an obvious leader in the offensive line. Isaac Seumalo is the sage veteran, but he is renowned for saying little, too. Broderick Jones is the most experienced of the rest and is trying to display more leadership. But it never hurts to have that at center. Frazier isn’t going to be vocal like Maurkice Pouncey off the field, but time will reveal his true football character.
In the meantime, he is still a second-year player, working on refining his game. He knows he has a lot to work on from his rookie season, and to his credit, he has been doing that. Now with Aaron Rodgers under contract, he has a new starting quarterback to prepare for. But they already changed the entire quarterback room on him, anyway, so what’s one more? And perhaps he can learn a thing or two from Rodgers along the way—hopefully about football.
