Alright, here we go — diving headfirst into the world of football with my morning coffee in one hand. Zach Frazier. Yeah, he’s that name you’d want etched into your fan memorabilia. Or maybe not? Depends on where you stand, honestly. Anyway, Saturday morning had a funny way of reminding us that not all bright stars shine on every list. So there’s this ESPN survey, right? Anonymous NFL folks, the ones in the know—or pretending to be—pouring over who’s hot and who’s not across the gridiron. Frazier? Nowhere in sight. Not even a whisper in the honorable mentions. A bit of a head-scratcher since he did snag a few nods. How many? Beats me.
Here’s the kicker — the list threw Creed Humphrey in the top seat with Tyler Linderbaum barely hanging on at number ten. While Frazier? Just another name drifting somewhere in the voting pool, rubbing elbows with the likes of Steve Avila, Ryan Kelly, and Drew Dalman.
But, let’s not get sidetracked. Flashback to last season — Frazier, fresh from West Virginia and plunked right into the Steelers’ lineup, made some noise as a rookie. What did he do? Oh, you know, just casually becoming one of the top centers in the league. Pro Football Focus even slapped a 77.9 grade on him — over a thousand snaps, postseason included. Do the math. That’s a lot of football. Plus, only 12 pressures and a single sack. Crazy, right? Especially since it was Myles Garrett who broke through. Myles Garrett, people!
And let’s not forget, he walked away with the Joe Greene Award punch bag for the Steelers’ best rookie and made the first-team All-Rookie squad. Not bad for a debut, huh?
So here we are, thinking about Frazier’s sophomore year. There he is, stepping up as the big brother to the young guns on the O-line. Mark Kaboly’s crystal ball sees Frazier as a future multi-time Pro Bowler. Pro Bowls and All-Pros — shoot for the stars, yeah? But then again, he’s got to wrangle with talents like Humphrey and the rest. It’s a jungle out there.
The clock’s ticking on this season — how many steps up the ladder will Frazier take? Who’s to say? But hey, if he keeps at it, we might be chattering about him being the top center, leaving the interior line in the dust. That’s the dream, right? Well, let’s see how this saga unfolds.
