Steelers Now
Robert Mays of The Athletic and Bill Barnwell of ESPN recently spoke about players with the best chance of being a first-time All-Pro in 2026, and Pittsburgh Steelers third-year center Zach Frazier was mentioned.
“He is an ascending player,” Mays said on the The Bill Barnwell Show. “I think the Steelers’ offensive line has a chance to be a really good unit this year, especially if those rookies can come along at a reasonable clip. This stuff is so narrative-driven at times. If you get to a place where we’re having a lot of conversations about the Steelers’ offensive line and there gets to be this drumbeat of, ‘Zach Frazier really makes that group go,’ I think you can see a path for him to be a real talking point. I also think that position specifically right now is very thin. I think that leaves a little bit of a window for a guy like Zach Frazier.”
Frazier is projected to receive a heft payday, especially if he earns first-team All-Pro accolades in 2026. Center Tyler Linderbaum signed a massive three-year, $81 million deal to join the Las Vegas Raiders in March. On Thursday, Aaron Brewer signed a three-year, $52.5 million contract extension with the Miami Dolphins. To say the least, centers are getting paid.
Linderbaum, Brewer, and Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs are the top-3 centers in the NFL. Frazier would really have to turn heads to earn a first-team All-Pro nod.
Mike Webster manned the center of the Steelers’ offensive line for 15 seasons. Dermontti Dawson came along soon after, locking that position down for 13 years. Maurkice Pouncey was Mike Tomlin’s fulcrum for a decade, forming a strong bond with Ben Roethlisberger.
Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson have busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Maurkice Pouncey could join them someday.
Having grown up in West Virginia “right across the border,” Frazier watched the Steelers on the local channels, keeping an eye specifically on Pouncey. He didn’t need much schooling on the legacy at the position, but he got it anyway.
“I think that was the first thing the media kinda told me all about — and I already knew that there’s a long history of centers here,” Frazier said last season. “It’s definitely something I want to live up to and keep that standard.”
The Steelers have a budding star in Frazier. He’s been nearly flawless in his first two seasons.
Nick Shook of NFL.com recently ranked the Steelers’ offensive line the second-best in the NFL. Shook also gave Frazier high praise.
“At number two, I’ve got the Steelers. I’ve got to give a tip of the cap to general manager Omar Khan because, three or four years ago, this was a bad group across the board, and they invested repeatedly through the draft in their offensive line,” Shook said on the Move the Sticks podcast. “It all starts with center Zach Frazier, who I think has become one of the better centers...
