Steelers Now
Pro Football Focus revealed their annual rankings for the center position on Thursday, and Pittsburgh Steelers second-year star Zach Frazier was tabbed as the third-best center in the NFL, behind only Tyler Linderbaum of the Baltimore Ravens and Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs.
“The Steelers hit it out of the park when they selected Frazier in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. At just 24 years old, he heads into his second year poised to build on an excellent rookie campaign during which he placed fourth in PFF overall grade (77.9) among qualifying centers,” Mason Cameron of PFF wrote.
“Frazier’s all-around grading profile is solid, as he places above the 75th percentile as both a pass protector and a run blocker.”
Frazier, who had a banner rookie campaign in 2024, was somehow snubbed by PFF in their top 25 players under 25 list.
It’s not the first time that Frazier has been snubbed, as was passed on as a Pro Bowl replacement for Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey. Buffalo Bills center Connor McGovern was selected instead, joining Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.
Frazier, the Steelers’ second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, gave up just one sack and 12 pressures while starting 15 games for the Steelers this season, per Pro Football Focus. His 98.8 pass protection efficiency was second only to Humphrey among centers with at least 1,000 snaps this season.
Frazier was named to the 2024 PFWA All-Rookie Team, the Pro Football Writers Association announced in January.
The Fairmont, West Virginia faced competition from Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Graham Barton, Dallas Cowboys center Cooper Beebe and Los Angeles Rams center Beaux Limmer.
Frazier gave credit to both Keeanu Benton and Montravius Adams for helping him during his rookie season.
“I would say just going against Keeanu, Montrevis, I remember going through camp asking questions, you know, maybe they got me on a play. Especially Mon, he helped me out a lot. He’s an older guy, but he would work with me after practice sometimes, kind of show me what he did and that kind of helped me grow as a player,” Frazier said during an interview with Missi Matthews of Steelers.com in February.
Frazier also touched on becoming a leader going into Year 2 and beyond.
“I would say that would be the next step,” Frazier said. “You know, I feel like when you come in, you kind of have to establish yourself as a player first before anyone’s, you know, going to look to you as a leader, but I’m really just going to keep my head down, keep working and if there’s opportunities to lead, that’s where I’ll grow.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Center Zach Frazier Receives Ringing Endorsement: ‘Hit it Out of the Park’
