The Perfect Fit for the Panthers at No. 33
The Carolina Panthers could go a lot of different directions with the top pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but I'm here to make the case for what I deem to be the "best fit" in West Virginia center, Zach Frazier.
When you talk about the main trait that new GM Dan Morgan is looking for, you know, that "dog," Frazier has it.
In the final game of the 2023 regular season, Frazier broke his leg on the final drive of the game. Three months later, he's out there running around doing on-field drills at the combine in Indianapolis. Everyone in and around Frazier's circle knew that the moment he went down, he would attack his rehab with a fierce vengeance and return to action sooner than most. He did exactly that, but that's only part of what makes him so intriguing.
Circling back to the play he broke his leg, Frazier's effort and awareness helped the Mountaineers beat Baylor. Trailing 31-27 to Baylor with 1:14 remaining and no timeouts, the Mountaineers needed to move the ball down the field as quickly as possible. Right out of the gate, adversity hit with Frazier's injury.
He went down on the first play of the drive and had no way of being able to stay in the game. Had he stayed down on the field and waited for trainers, it would have resulted in a 10-second runoff due to WVU being out of timeouts. Instead, he hobbled and crawled his way to the sideline to avoid the runoff and saved precious time.
Also on that play, Frazier grabbed wide receiver Hudson Clement and tossed him toward the first down marker, giving the Mountaineers a fresh set of downs, stopping the clock saving even more time. Between helping pick up the first down and making his way off the field following the injury, Frazier saved anywhere from 20-25 seconds and WVU needed every bit of it. Four plays later, Garrett Greene hit Jahiem White in stride for the game-winning touchdown with 23 seconds left.
The final play of his career at WVU encapsulates the four years of grit that he played with. He's just a tough son of a gun that lays it on the line with every single snap of every game.
Frazier's dominance helped West Virginia to have the best rushing attack in all of Power Five football in 2023 and it's no surprise as to why. The former four-time state wrestling champion bullies and manhandles defensive linemen and uses his athleticism to hit the second level in a hurry. He's good in pass protection, but knows his strength is in the run game and "teeing off" on people.
"The dog part of it, we need guys that are hungry to go out there and inflict pain on their opponents. We need guys with toughness. We need physicality. We need those type of things, just to put it plainly," Dan Morgan said last month at his introductory press conference. "We haven't had enough of that, and that's going to be our DNA to where when people drive up to Bank of America Stadium, they know they're in for a dogfight, so that's what we want to create here."
Sound like Zach Frazier, much? It sure does to me.
Yes, the Panthers have Bradley Bozeman locked in for two more years but he's had some experience at guard and if new offensive line coach Joe Gilbert wants to keep him around, he could bump him over to left guard, opening a spot for Frazier to step right in and play right away.
The only concern here is if Frazier will make it to the second round. There's a handful of teams in the final ten-or-so picks of the first that are looking to address the center position. If he is there though, Morgan should call in the pick without much hesitation.
