NFL somehow forgets about one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ best players in a shameful ranking of key position groups
Pittsburgh Steelers center Zach Frazier has quickly become one of the best centers in the entire NFL, but the rest of the league isn’t viewing him in that light, or at least not yet when analyzing their top-10 rankings.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have an offensive line problem, and it has nothing to do with what’s happening on the field. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler published his annual top 10 rankings for interior offensive linemen and offensive tackles over the weekend, compiled from NFL personnel evaluations. Steelers center Zach Frazier was nowhere near the top 10. He didn’t crack the honorable mention tier either. Frazier landed only in the “receiving votes” category, a slight that demands some serious explaining from the league executives who participated.
The truth is, Frazier has a legitimate case as one of the best centers in football. He might be THE best center in football. Since Pittsburgh selected him in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of West Virginia, Frazier has been nothing short of dominant at the position.
Zach Frazier’s 2025 stats
(Per PFF)
- 74.7 pass blocking grade.
- 71.6 run blocking grade.
- 73.5 overall grade (ranked 8th among all centers).
The film and the numbers both support a top 10 case
If you’re into PFF grades, Frazier already grades out as one of the premier interior offensive linemen in the league. That alone should have warranted at least an honorable mention from the NFL personnel Fowler polled. But the film tells an even more compelling story. Frazier mauls defenders at the point of attack in the run game while simultaneously operating as the quarterback of the offensive line, setting protections and unifying five individuals into a cohesive unit.
On top of that, listen to how quarterback Aaron Rodgers talks about him. Rodgers speaks about Frazier as though he’s a 10-year veteran who can do absolutely everything on a football field. That kind of endorsement from one of the most cerebral quarterbacks in NFL history carries weight.
Why being left out of the top 10 is one thing, but receiving votes territory is another
For Frazier to miss the top 10? Fine. There are good centers in the NFL, and reasonable people can disagree on ordering. For him to miss the honorable mention tier? That’s harder to justify. But for him to only gather a handful of extra votes, lumped into the receiving votes category as an afterthought? That’s a major disappointment and, frankly, difficult to square with what he’s put on tape.
The bottom line is that Frazier has done everything you could ask of a young center entering his third season. He’s been a force as a run blocker, a reliable pass protector, and the connective tissue Pittsburgh’s offensive line needed. The only next step for him is to cement himself as the undisputed best center in the league, which says everything about where he already stands.
The snub fits a pattern
This isn’t the first time NFL evaluators have undervalued a Steelers offensive lineman, and the trend is becoming difficult to ignore. Pittsburgh’s front five don’t always get the national recognition their play warrants, and Frazier’s placement in the receiving votes tier is the latest example. Whether it’s the Steelers’ broader offensive struggles in recent seasons coloring perception, or something else entirely, the result is the same: a player performing at an elite level getting slotted well below where he belongs.
In my opinion, Frazier belongs comfortably inside the top five interior offensive linemen in the NFL. If the 2026 season goes the way many expect, with Frazier continuing to build on an already impressive foundation, this ranking will look even more absurd by January.