Is Steelers’ 2nd round draft pick ready to start? Insider doesn’t think so

When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted center Zach Frazier in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the hope was that he'd be ready to start coming out of camp. However, things aren't looking great on that front, at least according to one Steelers insider.

During a recent "Steelers Chat" featuring Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , the Steelers reporter revealed that Frazier doesn't look like he's going to be ready to start "anytime soon."

He added that the Steelers "need to see more of him in pads and in games."

Dustin: Seeing quite a bit of talk about troy fautanu and how good he is doing. Have you seen anything on Zach Frazier as to how he's doing so far in camp? Do you believe he will be able to beat herbig for the starting role?

Gerry Dulac: At some point, Zach Frazier will be the starting center. But not anytime soon. They need to see more of him in pads and in games.

That is obviously the last thing that Steelers fans want to hear, especially when you consider the issues the franchise has had at center since the retirement of Maurkice Pouncey, who was a stalwart at the position for a decade.

Frazier is currently locked in a battle for the starting center job with Nate Herbig, who by all accounts is having a better showing at training camp thus far. Frazier has, however, at least shown some glimpses of the mauler he's expected to be.

"Zach Frazier has taken rookie lumps in 1v1," Steelers Depot's Alex Kozora wrote on Wednesday. "Power rushes giving him problems. Montravius Adams and Breiden Fehoko have had success vs. him.

"Nate Herbig has had a really solid start to camp."

While Frazier's prospects of starting aren't looking great right now, there's still a lot of time for him to show he can handle the job, with several weeks and three preseason games left before the start of the season.

If he fails to do that, the Steelers at least have a solid veteran insurance policy in Herbig. That said, it would be nice to see Frazier atop the depth chart by season's end.