West Virginia's Zach Frazier (54) calls signals at the line against Texas Tech during an NCAA ... [+]
The Pittsburgh Steelers continued to make the offensive line a priority during the second night of the NFL Draft on Friday.
The Steelers selected West Virginia center Zach Frazier in the second round. He is likely to move into the starting lineup immediately after the Steelers released Mason Cole earlier in the offseason.
Frazier started 37 games as a center over his final three seasons at West Virginia after making 10 starts at guard as a freshman. He was a third-team All-America selection last season when he did not allow sack and help lead the Mountaineers to a Power 5-best 2,976 rushing yards.
The selection of Frazier came after the Steelers selected Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round on Thursday night.
“I just know how much offensive line means to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their long tradition of having great o-linemen and great offensive lines,” Frazier said. “It’s special. They already went to the offensive line in the first round. It's special. I am excited. They’re getting a hard worker who is going to give everything he has to the organization to win football games. I couldn’t be more excited.”
The Steelers had two third-round picks and chose Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson and North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson.
Roman Wilson was Michigan’s big-play receiver last season when the Wolverines won the national championship. He had 48 receptions for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns in a run-heavy offense.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder was a slot receiver in college. The Steelers are looking for help at wide receiver after trading Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers and Wilson will join free-agent signees Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins in trying to fill the void.
In his college career, Wilson had 107 catches for 1,707 yards and 20 TDs.
“The reason they took me is they expect me to come in and play and help this team win games,” Wilson said. “That is exactly what I am going to come in and do.”
Payton Wilson was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season. He also won the Dick Butkus Award that goes to the best linebacker in college football and the Bednarik Award that goes to top overall defensive player.
Wilson had a career-high 138 tackles in 2023, including 69 solo stops, and a career-high six sacks.
Wilson is the brother of Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Bryse Wilson, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
“I came to a few games in Pittsburgh,” Wilson said. “It’s one of my favorite cities of all time. Super familiar with the city. Also, super familiar with how much Pittsburgh loves their professional sports teams. Super excited to get there.”
