Frazier becomes part of 'special' Steelers lineage in second round

The Steelers addressed a major need by selecting West Virginia center Zach Frazier with the 51st overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft Friday evening.

After using their 20th selection in the first round on Washington's Troy Fautanu, Omar Khan doubled down on his offensive line by taking a consensus top-three center in the draft. The offensive line projects to be 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones, Isaac Seumalo, Frazier, James Daniels, and Fautanu by the time the calendar hits September.

"I just know how much offensive line means to the Pittsburgh Steelers," Frazier said via conference call. "Their long tradition there of having great O-linemen and great offensive lines, it's special. They already went to the offensive line in the first round, so it's special. I'm excited."

Here is the moment Mike Tomlin made the call:

A native of Fairmont, W. Va., about 90 miles from Pittsburgh, Frazier was a two-time All-American who started in 46 games, including 37 straight at center, as a three-time captain at West Virginia. He allowed one sack over the previous two years and four total in his college career. Add in the starting experience of Fautanu, who started in 41 games at Washington, and the duo gives new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith two immediate plug-and-play pieces.

"The consistency. They played a lot of snaps at a high level," Smith said. "They were not up-and-down players. They're truly two really physical players who play with high effort, high football I.Q., so they check a lot of boxes for us."

Frazier sustained a major knee injury in West Virginia's final game of the 2023 season and was limited in the Senior Bowl. At the NFL Combine, Frazier posted 30 reps on the bench press and measured at 6-foot-3 and 313 pounds with a 32 1/4-inch arm length and a 10 7/8-inch hand width. He is named after former Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas. His dad, Ray Frazier, played center at Fairmont State University in the mid-'90s.

Zach is not the most athletic center out there, but he was a four-time wrestling state champion who lost only two matches in his high-school career. The Steelers took a former high-school wrestling superstar in last year's second round in Keeanu Benton.

"It helps a lot," Frazier said of how wrestling helped shape his game. "Every snap is some form of either hand-to-hand combat or just using leverage which is what wrestling is. So, from using hands, understanding leverage, to understanding how to move people, that's all, really, an offensive lineman is."

Smith offered a comparison of Frazier to Ben Jones, who played center for Smith while he was the Titans' tight ends coach and offensive coordinator from 2016-2020, because of his toughness. 

Frazier sustained a major knee injury towards the end of West Virginia's final game of the season against Baylor and infamously ran off of the field after that play so the Mountaineers could avoid taking a 10-second clock runoff since they were out of timeouts:

Smith deferred my question about any lingering knee concerns to Khan and Tomlin, but he noted the Steelers are confident in Frazier because of his resume and background. Smith has seen the tape of Frazier pulling himself off of the field after that knee injury.

"That's who he is," Smith said. "That's what his resume is. He's not just trying to do some dramatic shot for the camera. That's his history and his body of work. One of the tougher guys I've seen on film. Reminded me a lot of Ben Jones. Some real toughness to him."

Frazier's new quarterback, Russell Wilson, seems excited about the pick:

A major target came off of the board 44th overall when the Raiders selected Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, who dominated the Senior Bowl but dropped due to medical concerns. A run of wide receivers, defensive tackles, and cornerbacks occurred earlier in the second round. Three of the first five picks were wide receivers, four defensive tackles went within the span of five picks, and four consecutive cornerbacks were selected from picks 40 through 43 in the second round.

Frazier said he met with Tomlin at the Senior Bowl and again reconnected on his official visit to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. He said the Steelers are getting a hard worker who gives "everything" to the organization in order to win.

"It was unbelievable," Frazier said about his draft call. "I live an hour and a half away and that's the closest NFL team. I couldn't be more excited. I don't have words for it, really."

Frazier was the first of three picks the Steelers made Friday evening. The Steelers drafted Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson with the 84th overall selection in the third round, and they took N.C. State linebacker Payton Wilson with the 98th overall selection at the end of the third round.

Frazier will be made available to reporters for an in-person interview Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.