Zach Frazier started his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers facing a challenge he wasn’t used to on the football field.
The rookie center found himself overthinking things at first. “At first I had to kind of really think through things,” Frazier said.
The amount of information he needed to take in during his early months as a pro was overwhelming, especially during the beginning of training camp.
Fast forward five months, and things have slowed down for Frazier. While he was always expected to become the starter at some point, an injury to Nate Herbig just before the regular season pushed up that timeline.
What felt like a hectic transition for Frazier didn’t really appear that way to others.
Aside from an ankle injury that caused him to miss two games—and made him move around the locker room on a scooter with his right leg elevated—Frazier has looked like a worthy successor to a position with a strong history for the Steelers.
From Hall of Famers Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson to future gold jacket candidate Maurkice Pouncey, the Steelers have a proud tradition at the center position.
Frazier, who grew up in Fairmont, West Virginia, about 90 miles south of Acrisure Stadium, knew all about that history before the Steelers selected him with the 51st overall pick in late April.
Still, he didn’t get ahead of himself. That’s just not how the 23-year-old approaches his work.
“I don’t really like looking ahead,” he said. He feels that if you don’t focus on what’s in front of you, “you can kind of get off track.”
At the start of the season, Frazier relied a lot on veterans Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels for support. But both of them went down with injuries. Seumalo missed a month with a partially torn pectoral, and Daniels was lost for the season in September due to a torn Achilles tendon.
Then, first-round pick Troy Fautanu was limited to just one start because of a season-ending knee injury. This left Frazier as the anchor of a line that was constantly changing. However, these problems have started to fade as the season has gone on, thanks to Frazier and fellow rookie Mason McCormick maturing quickly.
“It was kind of crazy,” Frazier said. “In the beginning of the year, everyone was dropping with injuries. Unfortunately, it’s just, you know, next man up. … I had to come in. Mason had to step up. And then I feel like we’ve kind of found a groove.”
Still, there’s work to be done before the playoffs. While the Steelers (10-6) secured a postseason spot weeks ago, they’re on a three-game losing streak heading into their Saturday game against Cincinnati (8-8).
In a way, Frazier’s midseason ankle injury might help him later in the season. He’s still relatively fresh after 14 games, even though as he spoke on Tuesday, most of the fingers on his right hand were heavily taped.
Although he only missed two games, it felt like much more for a player who had been a regular starter at West Virginia, except for the bowl game after his senior season, which he missed due to a broken leg suffered in the regular season finale. He famously crawled off the field after the injury.
“That was tough on me,” he said. “It’s definitely not a good feeling, being out and not being able to go. But then, you know, once I got back in against Washington, started clicking again.”
The progress has been slow lately, but if you look at the big picture, the future of the offensive line looks promising.
Tackle Broderick Jones is finishing his second year, improving each week. Fautanu will be back in 2025. McCormick has shown a tough side that suits him well, and Frazier is right in the middle of it all. They’ve gone through the ups and downs of their rookie seasons together, and that could be valuable in the future.
“It’s just nice to have those guys and, you know, go through together with them,” Frazier said.
