Entering Year 2, Pittsburgh Steelers’ center Zach Frazier is being viewed as the key building block in the trenches for the Black and Gold, especially coming off of a strong rookie season in which he won the team’s Rookie of the Year award and graded out as one of the better centers in all of football.
Now that he has a full year of experience under his belt as the starting center of the Steelers, Frazier is ascending into a bigger role from a leadership perspective, even if he’s one of the younger players on offense.
For offensive line coach Pat Meyer, who spoke to reporters Wednesday on Day 2 of mandatory minicamp, Zach Frazier isn’t the most vocal. Still, he leads by example and lets his toughness and work on and off the field lead the way, which resonates with the young group of offensive linemen in the Steel City.
“He’s a leader. Again, he may not be the most vocal, but he is a leader for sure. He says stuff and people listen,” Meyer said of Frazier’s leadership qualities, according to audio provided by the Steelers’ PR department. “He’s directing that group, but he is a leader for sure. Do you have to? No, you want ’em all to be leaders. They’re all leaders in their own way because everybody’s built differently, but I’d like him [Frazier] to do it.
“He is doing it. He’s done a great job of doing it. So year one to year two is gonna be a big, big step for him.”
Coming out of West Virginia, Frazier’s leadership style was highly regarded during his tenure with the Mountaineers’ program. He’s not a very talkative or rah-rah guy, but he was tough as nails and led by example. That leadership quality showed when he was injured in his final WVU game and crawled off the field, rather than staying down and forcing a timeout in a game the Mountaineers ultimately won late.
In Pittsburgh, Zach Frazier wasn’t slated to start right away as a rookie. Still, once former lineman Nate Herbig went down with an injury in training camp, Frazier was thrust into the starting lineup and hit the ground running. He wasn’t a vocal guy overall and was rather quiet with the media and on the field, adjusting to being the hub of communication along the offensive line.
The focal point for Frazier as a rookie was to establish himself as a player in the NFL. That box was checked as a rookie. Now, as he stated in February, it’s about taking the next step forward as a player and a leader. He has the reputation that solidifies him on the team, and now he needs to find his leadership voice.
So far, he’s doing that and is earning praise from his offensive line coach. He’ll have to adjust to another new quarterback, this time in Aaron Rodgers, in the process. But among the offensive line, Zach Frazier needs to emerge as that true leader, setting the tone and holding people accountable.
