Tag: Zach Frazier

TD Wire praises improvement in Steelers offensive line

The Steelers made huge improvements in the offensive line thanks to the 2024 NFL draft.

“I love it when a plan comes together.” – Hannibal Smith

The Pittsburgh Steelers went into the 2024 NFL draft with a plan. The plan was to improve the offensive line. Pittsburgh spent their first two picks on offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier respectively and both guys are projected to start and be significant upgrades in 2024.

Our friends over at Touchdown Wire talked about his teams’ positional units that were most improved by the 2024 NFL draft and they named the Steelers offensive line as one of them.

Here’s what they had to say about the Steelers line as well as the new additions:

The Steelers went all-in here, selecting Washington tackle Troy Fautanu with the 20th overall pick, West Virginia center Zach Frazier with the 51st overall pick in the second round, and South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick with the 119th overall pick in the fourth round. Add in veteran guard Isaac Seumalo (one of two bright spots on that line last season), and 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones (he was the other), and all of a sudden, Pittsburgh’s primary weakness outside of that pesky quarterback thing becomes a serious strength.

If the Steelers plan works and Frazier and Fautanu live up to expectations, this offense is going to be tough to stop, especially on the ground.

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Zach Frazier feels ‘extra pressure’ placed on him by elite Steelers

Steelers rookie C Zach Frazier is expected to perform at a high level.

From Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson to Jeff Hartings and Maurkice Pouncey, a long line of centers have performed at elite levels for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Some expectations come with being a Steeler, especially as one drafted in the mid-second round: Zach Frazier is anticipated to perform at a high level.

No matter who came before him, all Frazier can do is be Frazier.

“It puts a little bit of extra pressure on me,” said Frazier with a smile, “but I’m just gonna work as hard as I can, try to put my head down and work.”

Frazier already has the process underway—definitely a good sign.

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How would a Brandon Aiyuk trade have changed the Steelers draft?

Which outcome would you have preferred from the NFL draft?

The 2024 NFL draft was a rousing success for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team landed two dominant starting offensive linemen in the first two rounds and in the third selected a wide receiver and inside linebacker who will both play a ton in 2023.

But what if the Steelers had pulled off a rumored trade for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiuyk? If we assume the rumblings are true as to what the Niners wanted, it would have cost the Steelers the No. 20 and No. 98 overall picks as a minimum.

This would mean the Steelers would have missed on offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and inside linebacker Payton Wilson. Is this a trade-off the fans would be ok with?

The trade might have also cost the Steelers center Zach Frazier. If Pittsburgh had chosen to value offensive tackle higher, Patrick Paul might have been the pick instead and the choice of Mason McCormick might be viewed as the team’s center option. It might have also meant the Steelers didn’t select wide receiver Roman Wilson with their first pick in the third round.

So instead of how the first four rounds of the draft turned out, it might have looked like this.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk

Offensive tackle Patrick Paul (2nd round)

Inside linebacker Payton Wilson (3rd round)

C Mason McCormick (4th round)

As much as we love Aiyuk and think he could help the team, for the cost, I’m good with how the Steelers draft turned out as opposed to this potential alternative.

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PFF shows Steelers O-line love after 2024 NFL draft

The Steelers really gave their offensive line a boost in the draft.

There was no question heading into the 2024 NFL draft that the Pittsburgh Steelers desperately needed to improve their offensive line. The play of center Mason Cole and both starting offensive tackles Chuks Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr. were subpar. But luckily last season, Pittsburgh drafted offensive tackle Broderick Jones in the first round and when the time was right, benched Okorafor in favor of the then-rookie and things were looking up.

Now this time around in the 2024 NFL draft, the Steelers took two more huge steps by selecting offensive tackle Troy Fautnau and center Zach Frazier. Which, if both guys play as expected will completely solidify this unit.

Pro Football Focus talked about the most improved offensive lines in the NFL after the draft, and to no one’s surprise, they had the Steelers right at the top. Here’s what they had to say about them:

On paper, the offensive line rebuild the Steelers put together through the 2024 NFL Draft could go down as one of the best ever. They used three selections on the unit, all inside the top 120 picks in the draft. It started with Washington’s Troy Fautanu, whose 88.2 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2023 ranked fifth among FBS tackles. He can start at either tackle or guard.

Pittsburgh followed that up by adding West Virginia’s Zach Frazier to man the middle of the offensive line. He allowed just a 2.3% pressure rate over the past three seasons. And then there is South Dakota State’s Mason McCormick. While he played at a smaller school, he earned a 90.3 PFF grade over the past two seasons, dominating at that level.

Under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the Steelers are going to want to pound the football on the ground and run play action off of it. Smith also likes to utilize the zone read to add an extra twist to the run game. This group has a very high ceiling and thanks to veteran guards Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels, the leadership is there as well.

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Steelers rookie C Zach Frazier praises those who came before

Steelers rookie center Zach Frazier has enormous shoes to fill.

Zach Frazier has enormous shoes to fill. Once upon a time, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense line was hailed almost as high as their defense. The unit is what helped Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw do what they did best.

It’s been quite some time since the Steelers lived up to that tradition, ignoring the need for generational players and filling the gaps with aging veterans.

Finally, in 2023, the offensive line rebuild started to take shape with the hire of trenches guru Andy Weidl. Weidl was responsible for selecting players that earned the Philadelphia Eagles one of the best units in the NFL.

Maurkice Pouncey. Dermontti Dawson. Mike Webster. Ray Mansfield. Two Hall of Famers, one future Hall of Famer and one who should be. For rookie Zach Frazier, those players offer a standard to live up to.

“Yeah, there’s a rich tradition of great centers here and there’s definitely a high standard for that position,” Frazier said in his introductory press conference. “And that’s just going to make me work that much harder to uphold that standard and keep that standard.”

Frazier has the motor. With some work, he has the potential to be added to the list of legendary Pittsburgh Steelers centers.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the offensive line: ‘We just wanna roll people’

The Steelers loaded up on offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line has been a work in progress for the last few seasons. Despite the front office’s best efforts, the offensive line has been the weak link in the offense.

Last season the Steelers took a huge step to improving the offensive line by trading up to select offensive tackle Broderick Jones. In 2024 they upped things even more by selecting three more offensive linemen including two guys, Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier, who should start as rookies.

After the draft, head coach Mike Tomlin talked about the decision to load up on nasty, physical offensive linemen in the draft.

“We just wanna roll people, man, to be honest with you guys,” Tomlin said. “We have some backs that we like. We have a good offensive line. We took Broderick Jones a year ago. This draft pool or class we thought was really loaded with some top-end offensive line talent and we just wanted to draw from that well.”

The new Steelers offense under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is shaping up to be a physical, punishing run game with this new offensive line and tandem of powerful backs.

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New Steelers C Zach Frazier shows ultimate tough-guy move in college

Zach Frazier brings a mentality of toughness to the Steelers.

In the second round of the 2024 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected former West Virginia center Zach Fraizer. Frazier is a mauler with a powerful punch and the ability to finish every play. He’s also one of the toughest dudes you will ever come across.

If you want an example of just how tough Frazier is, here ya go. In the Mountaineers final game of the 2023 college football season, Frazier broke his leg on his team’s final drive. Frazier had the presence to know his team had no timeouts remaining so he couldn’t just lay down on the field and wait for help to arrive.

So instead he got up and did a three-limbed bear crawl off the field as fast as he could to make sure his team could keep marching down the field and waste no time on him.

If you want a follow-up just consider when Frazier addressed the media after being selected by the Steelers he declared he was 100 percent healthy despite suffering the broken leg in late November of 2023.

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Steelers land third-most athletic class in 2024 NFL draft

The Steelers last two drafts have been among the best in the NFL thanks to keying on the most athletic prospects.

Last year, with General Manager Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl in charge of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL draft, we saw a huge shift in the Steelers draft philosophy. We saw a huge emphasis on overall athleticism and it really paid off.

2024 was a repeat performance as the Steelers front office landed the third-most athletic draft class in the NFL based On RAS. RAS stands for Relative Athletic Score and is an objective system set up by Kent Lee Platte to compare prospects based on hard data.

We project that offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier will both be in the Steelers starting lineup on opening weekend. We also expect wide receiver Roman Wilson and linebacker Payton Wilson will both be in heavy rotation from the beginning as well as they find their fit in the system.

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Steelers select G Mason McCormick in fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft

The Steelers have now selectred three offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL draft.

Sometimes a player is just too good to pass up. Despite drafting offensive tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round and center Zach Frazier in the second round, Pittsburgh went back to the offensive line in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft to land former South Carolina State guard Mason McCormick.

McCormick put his name on the draft radar of all 32 teams when he dominated the NFL scouting combine. He was rated the second-most athletic guard at the combine.

We viewed McCormick as a top Steelers prospect based on his ability to move to center but with Zach Frazier int he fold already, McCormick can focus strictly on playing guard.

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Steelers NFL Draft grade: Zach Frazier, IOL, West Virginia 51st overall

The Steelers landed their starting center int he second round.

The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to make major investments along their offensive line after using back to back first-round draft picks on tackles they now get some interior help with the selection of West Virginia interior offensive lineman Zach Frazier with the 51st overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft.

Frazier projects as the immediate starter as the Pittsburgh center and should bring massive improvement along the shaky interior of the Steelers offensive line. Troy Fautanu, Broderick Jones, and Zach Frazier will make a young offensive line core for the Steelers to lean on for years to come.

A scrappy, strong, and quick lineman, Frazier brings his wrestling skillset over to the football field and wins in a similar fashion. Expect Frazier to be productive early in helping out both the passing and running game in Pittsburgh.

Grade: B+

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