Zach Frazier already the 3rd best center in the NFL after one season according to PFF
As the 2025 NFL offseason progresses into the summer months, there will constantly be a barrage of lists and rankings from various outlets. While some fans will have preferred places where they look for particular rankings, others will just avoid the information altogether.
Over the next two weeks, I will be reporting on the members of the Pittsburgh Steelers who landed in the top 32 players at various positions according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). I know there are many who like to criticize PFF rankings, with me being one of them, it doesn’t mean that their information is always incorrect. While they used rankings for some of their reasoning in placing the players on these list, it was not their ultimate deciding factor and instead was the opinion of the various authors depending on which position group was being covered.
Whenever I cover various things from PFF, I often give the disclaimer reminding people that their grades are merely an opinion. One thing PFF should be commended on is that they collect an immense amount of data, particularly looking at each player on every snap, in order to form their opinion. But more data doesn’t automatically deliver a correct opinion. Regardless, it is still a great point of discussion to see where the Pittsburgh Steelers rank and the various positional groups.
To start things off, let’s look at PFF’s rankings at the center position where Zach Frazier is heading into second season.
3. Zach Frazier, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers hit it out of the park when they selected Frazier in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. At just 24 years old, he heads into his second year poised to build on an excellent rookie campaign during which he placed fourth in PFF overall grade (77.9) among qualifying centers.
Frazier’s all-around grading profile is solid, as he places above the 75th percentile as both a pass protector and a run blocker.
Frazier ranked fifth at the center position with his PFF score in 2024, but PFF has him on the rise after his rookie season. Coming in at the top of the list in a league of his own was Creed Humphrey from the Kansas City Chiefs. Following Humphrey was Tyler Linderbaum of the Baltimore Ravens mainly because of his excellent run blocking. But one thing Frazier has going for him is a better pass blocking score last season than Linderbaum, bringing Frazier praise for being a more rounded player.
Rounding out the top five, Frazier finished ahead of Erik McCoy the New Orleans Saints who was ranked fourth followed by Drew Dalman of the Chicago Bears coming in fifth. Frazier and Linderbaum were the only AFC North centers in the top 10 as the Browns’ Ethan Pocic was 12th and the Benglas’ Ted Karras was ranked 18th.
When it comes to the Steelers offensive line, Zach Frazier appears to be the most reliable piece going into the 2025. After not being able to find a suitable answer following the retirement of Maurkice Pouncey following the 2020 season, the Steelers seemed to have finally found their guy with the second-round selection of Frazier in 2024.
