Zach Frazier Honored With Steelers Top Rookie Award

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Josh Wolfe | Last updated Aug 17, 2025 12:13 PM ET

At halftime of Saturday night's Pittsburgh Steelers game, former West Virginia center Zach Frazier was presented with the PNC Bank Joe Greene Great Performance Award. This award is given annually to the team's rookie of the year, which is voted on by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America.

At halftime, @zfrazier54 was presented with the @PNCBank Joe Greene Great Performance Award, given annually to the team's rookie of the year as voted on by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America.

: https://t.co/R5MVDyTSU3 pic.twitter.com/3biSgWcIEU
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 17, 2025

Frazier was selected with the 51st pick of the 2024 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and was dominant in his rookie season. He played 975 snaps on the season and had a Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of 76.8. This ranked him sixth out of 64 eligible centers, which is a great accomplishment for a rookie. He did his best work in the run game, where he had an elite PFF grade of 79.7.

The Joe Greene Great Performance award first became a thing in 1984, when Wide Receiver Louis Lipps won the award. This award has been won by a large number of Steelers legends including Alan Faneca (1998), Troy Polamalu (2003), Ben Roethlisberger (2004), Heath Miller (2005), Santonio Holmes (2006), and Maurkice Pouncey (2010). The 2023 award winner was Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Before the Steelers, Frazier started for four seasons on the West Virginia offensive line. He was a two-time All-American in 2021 and 2023, as well as a three-time All-Big 12 Conference. He had 47 total appearances as a Mountaineer, including 46 starts. He allowed only four sacks in his career and totaled over 170 knockdowns in his last three seasons.

Frazier hopes to help lead the Steelers to a successful 2025 season, which will feature future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers said this about his center on the Pat McAfee show earlier this year:

“It starts and ends with that kid, though. I mean, he’s got a chance to be really special in the league. You know, a lot of the great centers I’ve had were also wrestlers, and he was a great wrestler in high school. He’s super smart. He’s a Mountaineer. He’s a little too smart for my liking, though. He’s out there making calls for me, telling me I’ve got the wrong checks. I got to get his a** in line a little bit and let him know who’s in charge. But no, seriously, Zach’s done a great job. It starts and ends with him.”