The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a lot of headlines during the 2024 NFL offseason.
They’ve brought in a pair of high-profile QBs. They landed an All-Pro for their defense.
The Steelers also traded away a former Pro Bowl receiver.
Their draft may be a bit less glamorous.
While other teams will be picking up big names at QB and receiver over the first couple of rounds, the Steelers are expected to focus on their offensive line early on and it seems there is one O-lineman that has really stood out to them in the pre-draft process.
According to 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Filliponi, his sources have said the Steelers are very interested in drafting former West Virginia center Zach Frazier and believe he could start for them on day one of his NFL career.
Frazier’s Standout Career at West Virginia
Frazier gave scouts plenty of reasons to believe that he could start immediately in the NFL over the course of his college career.
Frazier was a standout performer from the second he started playing for the Mountaineers. He was a starter right away, playing both center and guard over the course of his freshman season, and didn’t allow a sack in his first year of college ball.
He was named to the Freshman All-American First Team and also earned an honorable mention for the All-Big 12 team.
The following year he became the full-time starting center for West Virginia and put in another strong season. He allowed just one sack in his first full year as the starting center and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team.
Frazier actually allowed 3 sacks during his junior season, but was still once again named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.
This past season, Frazier once again didn’t allow a sack and only allowed 3 hurries. He also got a run block grade of 75.3 from PFF. This time around, he made the All-Big 12 First Team.
His standout college career has made Frazier one of the top centers in this year’s draft class and there is no team in the league that needs a center like the Steelers do right now.
The Steelers’ O-Line Problems
The Steelers have a couple of things they need to address along their offensive line during the draft.
That’s why they are currently listed at -330 on DraftKings Sportsbook to draft an offensive lineman with their first pick.
The team needs an upgrade at left tackle after Dan Moore Jr. allowed 55 pressures last season.
It’s something they are sure to address during the draft.
However, the center position is the biggest problem on their roster right now as they just don’t have anybody to play the position.
They released last year’s starter, Mason Cole, after he allowed 31 pressures in 604 pass block snaps.
Now the best option on the roster seems to be Nate Herbig, who has played guard throughout his NFL career..
That’s a big problem for a team that is expected to run the ball frequently in 2024.
New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has frequently had his teams run the ball more than 400 times per year as both a coordinator and a head coach.
Finding success with that style starts with being able to get a good push in the middle of the line of scrimmage.
Right now, the Steelers don’t have that, but Frazier could fix that if Pittsburgh is able to land him in this year’s NFL Draft.
