Though he had a tremendous rookie season and the future appears exceptionally bright for him, Pittsburgh Steelers’ second-year center Zach Frazier found himself on the outside looking in Saturday morning.
In ESPN.com’s anonymous NFL executives, scouts, and coaches survey ranking the best players at each position group, Frazier wasn’t ranked among the best interior offensive linemen. He didn’t even get an honorable mention, either.
However, Frazier was listed among those receiving votes. It’s unclear how many votes he received, but there were two centers in the top 10, and two additional centers in the honorable mention. Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey was ranked No. 1, while Baltimore’s Tyler Linderbaum landed at No. 10.
New Orleans’ Erik McCoy and Philadelphia’s Cam Jurgens were highlighted in the honorable mention section. Frazier was joined by Los Angeles’ Steve Avila, Minnesota’s Ryan Kelly, and Chicago’s Drew Dalman as centers in the others receiving votes.
Frazier started right away last season with the Steelers and went on to be one of the best centers in football.
A second-round pick out of West Virginia, Frazier hit the ground running and was a significant impact piece for the Black and Gold. He graded out at a 77.9 overall from Pro Football Focus, playing 1,021 snaps including playoffs. On the year, Frazier allowed just 12 pressures and one sack, and was at his best as a run blocker, earning an 80.5 grade in that department.
The lone sack Frazier allowed in his rookie season came in Week 12 on Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns on the road, where the Browns had All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett stunt inside to matchup against him. Giving up only one sack on the year, and it being to a guy of Garrett’s stature, is impressive.
Thanks to his great rookie season, Frazier won the Steelers’ Joe Greene Award as the team’s best rookie. He also added to his personal accolades with a first-team All-Rookie honor from the Pro Football Writers of America.
Now, entering Year 2, Frazier is taking on a bigger leadership role for the Steelers’ young offensive line. He’s the key man in the middle and the main building block around which everything revolves in the trenches.
Longtime beat writer Mark Kaboly believes Frazier could be an “8-to-10-time Pro Bowler” with the Steelers, and should earn a number of All-Pros. Though the center position is loaded with talent like Humphrey, Linderbaum, McCoy, Jurgens, and more, right around the same age as Frazier, that’s how high expectations are for the second-year pro.
Hopefully, he can put together another strong season and work his way higher up the rankings into the discussion of not only the best center in the NFL but also among the best interior offensive linemen in football.
Recommended for you