There's a new award coming to the 2025 NFL Honors ceremony: the NFL Protector of the Year. For the first time, the league's best offensive lineman, voted on by the Associated Press, will receive recognition with the Protector of the Year award. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Steelers are already lacking representation.
On Tuesday, NFL.com's Nick Shook released an article outlining the top 10 candidates who could be in line to win the award in 2025. Despite receiving All-Pro buzz this offseason, Zach Frazier's name was nowhere to be found.
To be fair, this is a prestigious list, highlighted by names like Penei Sewell, Trent Williams, and Lane Johnson. Some of the top interior offensive linemen on Shook's rankings included Chiefs center Creed Humphrey, Colts guard Quenton Nelson, and Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum.
Frazier earned brief recognition as one of six offensive linemen in the 'also considered' category.
Pittsburgh Steelers center Zach Frazier could be a candidate for the 2025 Protector of the Year award
In 2024, Frazier exploded onto the scene with a tremendous rookie campaign. The West Virginia product and second-round pick earned a top-five grade among all NFL centers, and with ex-Lions center Frank Ragnow retired, Frazier could climb even higher in the center rankings.
Frazier received a trial by fire in his first season with the Steelers. In training camp last year, center Nick Herbig went down with a season-ending injury, and Frazier found himself on the field sooner than expected. He didn't disappoint.
Despite the jump from the Big 12 to being an NFL starter, Frazier used his powerful 11-inch hands and impressive wrestling background to manhandle defensive tackles at the point of attack. This led to a 77.9 overall PFF grade as a rookie, accompanied by an outstanding 80.5 run defense grade—good for fourth in the NFL among 37 qualifying centers.
From very early in his first season, Frazier established himself as the anchor of the Steelers' new-look offensive line. Now entering year two, expectations are sky high, and Frazier has Pro Bowl aspirations.
It's hard to say how the Protector of the Year voting will be distributed. Based on other individual NFL awards, we would have to assume that Frazier would need to be part of a good offensive line unit and an efficient offense in order to stand a shot at the award.
We can't blame NFL.com for not listing Zach Frazier as a top-10 candidate for the 2025 Protector of the Year award with so many deserving offensive linemen across the NFL, but the Pittsburgh Steelers' cornerstone could put his name on the map as one of the best interior offensive linemen in the league with a strong second season.