The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of young talent on the offensive side of the ball, especially on the line. Starting right tackle Broderick Jones is in just his second season, while Pittsburgh's starting center is a rookie in Zach Frazier. The Steelers also have their first-round pick Troy Fautanu waiting in the wings as he continues to bounce back from a knee injury. Frazier made his debut in the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, and it immediately got off to a rocky start for the rookie.
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Steelers' Zach Frazier during his NFL debut against the Atlanta Falcons.
Frazier has been impressive ever since arriving in Pittsburgh after being selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was named the starter shortly after the start of training camp once Nate Herbig suffered an injury. He has been highly praised by the coaching staff, but had a rough start to his career on Sunday. His first snap was fumbled after there was trouble on the exchange between him and Justin Fields, and the rookie spoke about the error after the game.
"It was everything you dreamed about as a kid to go out there for your first snap ... then we fumbled it." -- Steelers rookie C Zach Frazier.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) September 8, 2024
Frazier grew up in West Virginia and went to West Virginia University, so he has grown up around Steelers fans and been around them his whole life. Pair that with his dream of making it to the NFL, and it must have been a pretty special moment for him to walk out on the field Week 1 as the starting center. That moment was quickly ruined, as the ball hit the ground on the opening snap for the Pittsburgh offense.
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Steelers QB Justin Fields working out in Pittsburgh ahead of the 2024 season.
The fumble was quickly recovered by Fields, and he even gained three yards on the play. Regardless, issues in the exchange between a center and a quarterback is never a good sign. It should be an easy and routine part of the game, but it has plagued the Steelers. Blame should be placed on both Frazier and Fields, but due to Fields having issues with it during the preseason it seems like it is more of a problem on his behalf.
Fields had this issue during the first preseason game against the Houston Texans while Herbig was at center. The common part of each of these combinations that caused the fumble is Fields, but the quarterback promised after the game that that scenario won't happen again. Even though it likely isn't an issue with Frazier, that has to be a shot to the confidence of a rookie who is just trying to get his feet wet at the NFL level.
This issue came up again in the win over the Falcons, but Fields was able to catch the ball after it bounced off of the ground and still delivered a toss to Najee Harris. The offense was able to keep the ball out of harm's way despite a few close calls, which is what the Steelers need to do in order to win in 2024. It didn't happen again throughout the game, so it shouldn't be an issue moving forward.
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Steelers' QB Russell Wilson getting some work in with rookie center, Zach Frazier.
Steelers Selection Of Zach Frazier Is Already Paying Off
Frazier clearly has the makings of a franchise center in the NFL. He went unnoticed on Sunday, which is a good thing when you are an offensive lineman. If a lineman is being talked about a lot, it likely means they are getting beat and hurting the offense. The offense was able to consistently run the ball, and Fields didn't face too much pressure but was sacked twice.
The rookie will continue to improve as the season goes along, but he already looks extremely promising. It seems Pittsburgh made the right selection in the second round, and fans would probably be happy even if they took a swing on Frazier earlier in the draft.
What did you think about the rookie's performance on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!
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