Zach Frazier often is the solely rookie to start out the opener for the Steelers. Whereas the workforce has its preliminary 53-man roster, the Steelers don’t but have an preliminary beginning lineup. The excellent news is that it’s not very arduous to foretell, although. The one variations revolve round sure gamers’ well being.
We now know that Russell Wilson will begin at quarterback, however may Justin Fields additionally play? That’s one other debate that has but to be settled, however Frazier must be ready to snap to anyone again there.
Regardless of a botched snap within the preseason finale on account of a miscommunication, nonetheless, Fields stays very assured in Frazier and predicts that he’ll discover a settled place within the beginning lineup. He spoke in regards to the rookie Tuesday on cutdown day through the workforce’s web site.
“Zach [Frazier]’s been nice,” Fields mentioned. “He’s one of many hardest staff now we have. He’s humble, hardworking, sensible, too. When you’ve all these intangibles in a rookie, particularly an vital place like middle, it’s nice to see. I’m excited to see what he does this season. I do know he’s gonna impress and do his factor.”
Frazier was the proverbial final man standing after Nate Herbig suffered a shoulder damage. The Steelers positioned Herbig on the Reserve/Injured Record with no return designation, so Frazier has to start out. If something, they’re making an attempt to determine who their backup middle is likely to be.
A rookie second-round pick of West Virginia, Frazier has intensive beginning expertise at middle on the faculty degree. He spent many of the offseason working with the second-team offense however started shifting up throughout coaching camp. As a result of Herbig’s damage earlier than the second preseason sport, he has persistently run with the starters for weeks.
Each metric appears to point that he’s doing properly, too. Professional Soccer Focus graded him properly, and his critiques are good throughout the board. He definitely appears much more able to be a starter than Kendrick Inexperienced was just a few years in the past.
The Steelers have invested within the offensive line in the previous couple of years. Particularly within the final two, they’ve targeted on the draft, taking linemen with their final two first-round picks. The Steelers doubled up on linemen with their first two picks in 2024, Frazier following Troy Fautanu in Spherical 2.
As talked about earlier, well being will assist decide the beginning lineup. There are some indications that the Steelers meant to start out Fautanu for the season opener, however he’s nonetheless recovering from a knee damage. As soon as he does crack the lineup, he and Frazier will make up 40 p.c of the road as rookies. And Broderick Jones — assuming he begins — is simply in his second season.
