PITTSBURGH — Music pulsed through Acrisure Stadium on Thursday as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills geared up for action. While it was just a joint practice, about a month before the real season kicks off, the stadium setting and the different colored jerseys provided a measuring stick for the Steelers.
That was especially true for rookie center Zach Frazier.
With training camp, Nate Herbig has been carrying most of the first-team repetitions and started the first preseason game. However, an injury kept him out of practice. Frazier was able to get his best look yet at the starters as a result. The experience was enhanced by the fact that it was against a new opponent.
“Going against another team’s ones, that’s a great test for me,” Frazier said. “I’m just thankful for the opportunity and just try to give everything I have.”
In the first 11-on-11 possession against the starting lineup of the Bills, guard Isaac Seumalo and center Brian Frazier created a wide opening, and Najee Harris made a spectacular catch to take the ball all the way to the end zone, setting up one of the first highlights. The Steelers’ second-round pick proved he was ready for the promotion, and it did not take long.
Later on, Seumalo and Frazier collaborated to clear another channel during that same team session. With an exclamation point, Frazier sent the Bills lineman sprawling onto the ground, capping the play.
Following a strong preseason debut last Friday against the Texans, he put up a steady performance. Against Houston, Frazier played with a low base and displayed his power, opening up multiple openings. On 19 pass-blocking snaps, he also did not give in to any pressure, according to Pro Football Focus via TruMedia.
“He’s humble,” quarterback Justin Fields said. “Doesn’t say much. But, boy, he works.”
Fields and Frazier conversed amicably. Plus, a man who only had two Bs in high school and college proved how intelligent he was by pointing out altering protections and blitzing linebackers.
“It’s great to see a rookie that young, that smart, controlling where the protections are going,” Fields said. “I would (go to) flip the protection, and he already had done it before I could.”
When the Steelers would turn to the rookie was already a matter of debate, particularly in light of the two awkward encounters that Herbig and Fields had during the inaugural exhibition game. Herbig’s injury creates an additional factor.
Coach Mike Tomlin described Herbig’s injury as a “training camp-like issue” following practice on Thursday and stated he would hold off on deciding who would start the preseason game on Saturday. It might be the opening Frazier needs to pass Herbig in the competition if Herbig is unable to play.
The Steelers decided to gradually introduce rookie tackle Broderick Jones to the team during the course of the previous campaign. Although he was given a spot start in Week 5, the former Georgia Bulldog did not take the field as the starting right tackle on a regular basis until Week 8.
Tomlin has admitted that the rookie class of 2023 lacks the experience of this year’s class, which might speed up the process for rookie tackle Troy Fautanu and Frazier. Frazier was essentially a West Virginia first-team starter from day one, but Jones only started 19 collegiate games. Throughout his collegiate career, he started 46 games and had 47 appearances, 38 of which were at center.
With some of the other center prospects available in this year’s draft, compare that. Graham Barton of Duke, the first center off the board, began just five collegiate games as center prior to switching to tackle back in 2020. Only last season did Jackson Powers-Johnson of Oregon, the other center selected before Frazier, establish himself as a regular starter at the position. You can understand why a lot of people thought that Frazier was the most ready-made, plug-and-play center out there, and why the Steelers should be optimistic that he will be prepared to make his NFL debut shortly.
“We always respected the number of games he started at West Virginia,” assistant general manager Andy Weidl said. “He’s a captain. He’s a mature guy. We just knew him really well. He’s right in our backyard.”
Weidl thought back on that initial encounter with Frazier on Thursday morning, which happened to be in Acrisure Stadium by coincidence. Dan Colbert, the director of college scouting for the Steelers, approached Weidl during halftime of the Backyard Brawl between Pitt and WVU.
“Did you see that center from West Virginia dumping guys on the ground?” Weidl remembers Colbert saying. “I said, ‘Yeah, we both saw it.’”
Weidl made the trip to see Frazier face BYU during the previous season and was once again amazed.
“They had 200 yards rushing in the first half, and he was just mowing guys down,” Weidl said. “Then just getting to know the kid through the school visit, the makeup, he’s got a special football character to him. … We were just fortunate to get him where we got him the second round.”
Additional observations and notes from Thursday’s combined practice are listed below:
QB competition update
Despite the fact that Tomlin selected Russell Wilson to start the team’s preseason game on Saturday, the manner the team distributed the reps suggests that the competition is still going on.
Wilson and Fields divided up the first-team work during Thursday’s practice, for the most part. When the Steelers lined up against the Bills’ starting defense during Seven Shots, Wilson was given the first four opportunities. Wilson appeared to be trodden on by Seumalo on the first snap, which resulted in a mishandled pitch. Wilson would have been sacked on the second snap, but the drill play went on, and he connected with George Pickens in the end zone. Wilson then scored with a pass to wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick.
Fields led the first team repetitions during the first period of the two teams’ 11-on-11 practice, while Wilson took over for the second.
Both quarterbacks utilized their strengths during practice. Weidl claimed that Wilson throws a “majestic” deep ball. Wilson made multiple vertical attacks. The Bills defense struggled with Fields’ athleticism, particularly in the two-minute drill when he scampering for a 32-yard touchdown.
Nickel corner competition takes a turn
The day the former West Virginia center advanced into the starting lineup, Beanie Bishop, a fellow Mountaineer, neared his own chance. Once more, it was an injury that could have created an opportunity, when the Steelers placed Grayland Arnold, his main rival, on injured reserve.
Bishop comes to Pittsburgh with a strong résumé, having led the university in passes defended and breakups in his senior season to garner unanimous All-America recognition. It just so happened that Bishop was scouting Frazier during the BYU game when Weidl saw him.
“He had a really productive game. Special teams. Pass breakups,” Weidl said. “I think you saw the energy and the speed he played with, and the physicality. He’s a guy that ran to it. … As we got to know him, we said this is a Steeler type of guy. A Steeler type of player. He’s out there every day competing. Is he perfect yet? No. But he’s out here competing his tail off.”
Special teams take center stage
Tomlin stated that practicing the NFL’s new kickoff was one of the reasons the Steelers decided to hold a joint practice for the first time in eight years. It was dubbed the “most hardest thing to duplicate” in practice by the coach.
It looks like the Steelers have some work ahead of them. Receiver Andy Isabella of the Bills sprinted past the first wave unnoticed on Buffalo’s first return opportunity, perhaps leading to a touchdown in a real game. From then on, things improved as the Steelers limited the Bills to manageable returns.
It was also a chance for a few players fighting for positions on the roster to argue for themselves on an individual basis. That place was a mixed bag. One Bills player was brutally blocked by inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich, electrifying the Steelers’ sideline to the point where Harris came onto the field to applaud the star player on special teams.
Such kind of plays could be crucial in deciding the final 53-man roster. The top three players in the Steelers’ inside linebacker room are rookie Payton Wilson, Patrick Queen, and Elandon Roberts. Strong special teams play by Matakevich might set him apart from Mark Robinson if the Steelers only keep four players.
Conversely, fullback Jack Colletto’s chances of making the squad can be enhanced, according to offensive coach Arthur Smith, if he can demonstrate his abilities in the third phase. Colletto botched a blocking assignment on Thursday, freeing up his defender to make an open-field tackle, even if it was only one rep.
A little chippy
Joint exercises frequently result in skirmishes or full-on battles. Though there was some biting on a few instances, the Steelers managed to stay away from anything big that could have ruined Thursday’s game.
But that’s not to say there weren’t words exchanged.
Tight end Pat Freiermuth wallowed off Bills defensive back Christian Benford to reel in a one-handed catch during a seven-on-seven play. When the two players got together, Freiermuth spoke the most. He will have the season many had projected if he can make combat receptions like that one on a regular basis.
(Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
