The Zach Frazier Files
October 17th, 2026
Graham Barton
It’s always fun to rearview mirror a Buccaneers draft pick.
And it’s hard not to do that today with Steelers center Zach Frazier coming to town for tomorrow’s showdown against the Bucs.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht was hunting a center after the 2023 season. The team no longer wanted Robert Hainsey manning the middle of its offensive line.
So Licht marched into the 2024 draft and selected Duke left tackle Graham Barton to play center at No. 26 overall.
(Ironically, Hainsey left Tampa in free agency following the 2024 season and became the linchpin of the Jaguars’ offensive line.)
Barton wasn’t exactly a controversial draft pick, but he was taken high for a center and Jackson Powers-Johnson and Frazier were highly touted center prospects in that draft. They were selected in Round 2 and Frazier landed at No. 51 overall to Pittsburgh.
Frazier had an excellent rookie season, by most accounts better than Barton’s, and he earned high praise last season from quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his intelligence and play. In fact, this summer on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Rodgers gushed about Frazier, including saying he’s never been around a center who picked up the cadence so quickly.
So did Licht pick the right center? That’s unclear.
Joe wonders if Barton will feel like he’s in some form of head-to-head competition with Frazier tomorrow.
Meaningless fact: six picks after the Steelers picked Frazier, the Bucs chose edge rusher Chris Braswell, who was out of football this week before being re-signed to the Texans practice squad.
Hindsight always rules the day when it comes to the draft. Licht could have traded down in 2024, taken Frazier in Round 2 and walked off with another premium draft pick.
October 17th, 2026 at 7:06 pm
Barton isn’t lighting it up and may be a miss of a first rounder. Hainsey doing well in Jax doesn’t help. Hopefully the line starts to gel again and play solid, error free football.
They seemed fired up last game. Let’s see if it carries over against a much more stout DLine.
October 17th, 2026 at 7:12 pm
Not even this Joe has enough turd polish for The Lord of The Offensive ( very offensive ) Line. He gets way too cute drafting lineman early then moving them around.
The Licht House is now an Out House.
October 17th, 2026 at 7:32 pm
I’ve already said how I feel about Barton
October 17th, 2026 at 7:34 pm
Barton has not been anything like he was billed, and talked so much about early on when he was drafted. Watching him get manhandled so many times in games since he has started is not fun to watch. I will be glad when a someone else besides Barton is playing center for the Bucs. To many times Barton is getting pushed around and hanging on for dear life, like he seemingly ends up doing sometime every game.
October 17th, 2026 at 7:51 pm
Yes…but Barton makes up for the getting pushed around like a shopping cart at Walmart with ill-timed holding penalties. Careful…or Licht will extend him early in order to look proactive and to remain friend with the players above all else.
October 17th, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Yes Licht got it wrong. We could have drafted jpj or Frazier in the 2nd. I’m tried of Licht being cute, just like drafting the kicker in the 2nd. SMH
October 17th, 2026 at 8:07 pm
Nuthn like kickn the crap out of Dallas and Pitt back 2 back ! Go Bucs! I wonder how many teams have done that??
October 17th, 2026 at 8:18 pm
Barton hasn’t out-performed the middling center he was drafted to replace, but neither has Jackson Powers-Johnson. They’re all about the same at thing point. Small chance Barton will improve over time–Kelsey sucked at center until year 5
October 17th, 2026 at 8:23 pm
Who knew an o-line comprised of 4 college tackles (3/5 undersized & 4/5 from small schools) would struggle? I guess every other team in the league. Not JL! JPJ is probably still a better center than Barton & he’s not even the best center on his own team! But even though they’re undersized & don’t have the caboose meat to do the job (particularly Barton at center), at least they’re “glass eaters & road graters,” right? No. Outside of Wirfs, I don’t see any dawg in these guys, including Geodonkey & Cody (and obviously Barton; too much of a thinker, getting philosophical in media availability 🙄). Flashes, plays, maybe, but not consistently. Even backups like Klein are too small to be nfl linemen. Switching guys to different positions should be the exception, not the rule. It’s just like most other positions on the team, JL tries to be too cute by half and thinks he’s seeing things the other GMs are missing. However the results rarely justify his confidence. He thinks he finds diamonds in the rough, but most of the time all he’s found are turds. Just take the blue chip talent available at the position you’re targeting and STOP over thing it. I may be missing one, but going back to before the SB win, the only blue chippers we’ve taken IN THE FIRST ROUND in the last 6+ years are Wirfs & EE. We’ve taken more “project” type players than that in the first round during that period. Crazy. And not like we’re just a crappy team with a bunch of cap room, the Glazers are paying for a way better team than they have 💯
October 17th, 2026 at 8:26 pm
Jackson Powers Johnson is also a bust for the Raiders and he is the name which everyone compared Barton to in that draft, not Frazier. I also remember Skip Bayliss blasting the Cowboys for trading down and letting the Bucs take Barton. Barton probably better at guard.
anyhow. Coen knew what he was doing when he got Hainsey, dude is stellar with Jag coaching.
October 17th, 2026 at 8:28 pm
Barton would probably be better at Guard, Bredeson is probably the better Center of the two. Is it too late to switch? I don’t know that it really matters anymore, not for this season anyway, especially if Bowles makes Rodgers look like the immortal Kirk Cousins tomorrow.
October 17th, 2026 at 8:29 pm
Licht is pretty good at drafting Offensive lineman. It takes time to learn the center position. Give him some time. He needs to add strength and refine his skills.
October 17th, 2026 at 8:55 pm
Licht is a bust
October 17th, 2026 at 9:03 pm
Barton is a guard playing center. He gets run over a lot.
October 17th, 2026 at 9:13 pm
Turnstile
October 17th, 2026 at 9:20 pm
Barton is doing just fine and fits well within the ‘I Am That Man’ draft model they were/are looking for. They need to look for more 1) Angry Man and still a 2) Good guy model vs good guy/angry man.
‘
October 17th, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Jackson Powers-Johnson hasn’t been good and has missed a lot of games. Bredeson is a bigger liability and I think Barton is always looking to help Breds in pass pro. Don’t know anything about Frazier.
A lot of motivation for Danny Smith, Kenny Gainwell, and Miles Killebrew against the Steelers.
October 17th, 2026 at 9:45 pm
Draft the guys you like as a person, hype them up to be HOF players in year one, sign them to long term overpriced contracts, zero repercussions for lack of production by the players you drafted, the Jason Licht playbook.
Take away Tom Brady and this guy isn’t our GM anymore.
He’d be the overnight donut guy at DD.
October 17th, 2026 at 9:56 pm
This upcoming draft or free agency we should get a new center and put Barton back at guard.
October 17th, 2026 at 9:57 pm
Another blunder.
October 17th, 2026 at 10:20 pm
Chris Braswell mention… but all these fans said that braswell and logan hall would light it up with a real defensive mind lol
October 17th, 2026 at 10:45 pm
I get Licht had had his issues in the draft but you have to realize if Brady didn’t think the Bucs had the team to win the Super Bowl, he would’ve never come here.
October 17th, 2026 at 10:47 pm
Maybe Barton would play better at the guard position and we can find someone else to play center. It just seems that Barton appears overmatched sometimes and it may have something to do with some of the extra duties playing center. He actually didn’t play too badly last year when he was kicked out to tackle when Wirfs was injured.
October 17th, 2026 at 11:01 pm
You should give me credit for this.
I’ve been making this comparison for weeks.
Check the archives.
And yes, we should have drafted Frazier.
Why? Because he was a state champ in wrestling like Wirfs.
After Benenoch, Goedeke, Mauch and Barton,
Can we please stop drafting guys and trying to change their position!
It doesn’t work!
Wirfs was a beast at RT for Brady, because he was a RT in college!
Stop trying to get cute Licht.
Be practical!
October 17th, 2026 at 11:03 pm
When you take a center that high in the draft, he better be outstanding, he hasn’t been outstanding, good maybe, I think Licht loses on this one, a safe statement would be this guy was not worth drafting him that high, and what about Hainsey? He’s the leader of the Jags offensive line…..Jags get Coen and Hainsey, we get Bowles and Barton, time to drink a shot with my beer. Cheers!
October 17th, 2026 at 11:03 pm
Ànd Barton had a bad snap on a 3rd down that really screwed us.
Brederson is a better snapper also.
Make the change!
Brederson has a much bigger lower body and legs.
He creates a better à anchor at Center.
Let Barton play LG!!
Barton is also faster than Bredeson. So he can pull better!
October 17th, 2026 at 11:26 pm
Barton has never played guard in his life
October 18th, 2026 at 12:18 am
Another blog poster. Looking for credit. And even imploring us to check the archives! Haha. Really? You win the vapor jbf blog prognosticator prize for this week.
October 18th, 2026 at 12:29 am
Cometowin2: You’re absolutely right with what you said. BUT… believe it or not, that was SEVEN seasons ago (when the team that attracted Brady was built) at this point. Just like with bowles and many players on this team, Licht gets an undeserved pass for long past performance. The nfl is a “what have you done for me lately” business, except to the Glazers apparently. The Patriot way: trade them a season early. The Bucs/JL way: give them an entire contract you know you shouldn’t and will live to regret (Zyon, Vea, Baker). And we also cannot forget that the draft after the Super Bowl was one of the worst in Licht’s tenure. Yikes. Just like when the Joes bring up how good the line was in 24, that’s ancient history in nfl terms. The average nfl career is only 3 years. All those hogs are 2 years older, Wirfs is not having a true pro bowl season (will probably get in, at least as an alternate, anyhow), Cody coming off a major injury, BB (the weakest link, lowest drafted by far) is the oldest of the bunch, Barton still only meh after multiple seasons to adjust to center (not the kind of result you want from a mid first rounder). Guy on SI is calling for the Vikes to trade for BB, we should do it. Also should trade Cody as there’s no way we can feel good about paying him the way he’s playing and the season we’re having. Barton can figure out guard (QUICKLY, he’s allegedly super smart), or he can go too. Clearly center is NOT working for him.
October 18th, 2026 at 12:46 am
Beeej Says:
October 17th, 2026 at 11:26 pm
Barton has never played guard in his life
^^^^^^^^^
Bain probably never played CB or S either, yet Bowles has him out in coverage. Hahahaha. I said when they drafted him that Bowles would make him look like Conrad Bain.
October 18th, 2026 at 2:20 am
Can definitely question the wisdom of grabbing Barton that high, but got no time for the “Licht could have traded down in 2024, taken Frazier in Round 2 and walked off with another premium draft pick” nonsensense. It’s convenient to sit behind a keyboard and fantasize about scenarios of all the different offers teams are making to move up, but none of us have a clue if a trade down was an option, let alone the quality of offers made (if any). And you’re making another assumption of Frazier being available at Braswell’s spot. Def fair though to question picks in hindsight, but the what-ifs are just useless too. Much like todd being brought back for ’26, what’s done is done sadly.
October 18th, 2026 at 4:38 am
The biggest problem is taking oj howard over tj watt. Howard will be watching from the couch like the rest of us today. What did howard last 5 years in the league and maybe one decent season. Meanwhile watt is terrorizing qb’s. How did licht miss on that one?
October 18th, 2026 at 7:22 am
Not every player on a baseball team can play catcher. It takes a certain body type, and discipline. Same with playing center at the NFL level. I don’t see why you would draft a LT, and try to make a center out of them especially in the pros. Licht is a meathead. It takes a special cat to play center. Barton, like Marpet ain’t that cat.
October 18th, 2026 at 7:32 am
Barton is actually one of the better pass-blocking centers in the league. RUN blocking? He’s 34th out of 34
October 18th, 2026 at 7:54 am
Wirfs and Goedeke are a good pair of Tackles.
Barton looked goid, when he filled in for Wirfs.
The middle of our line Sucks. Barton isn’t a center. Mauch hasn’t recovered from his injury. Bredesen has short arms. Struggles badly at guard, better at Center.
But Barton is gonna play Ceter, because Licht said he’s a Center.
This unit is actually pretty good at run blocking. I think that’s due to Carberry.
He’s great and coaching and coordinating the run game.
This line sucks at pass blocking.
I think that’s due to talent, and Carberry
Carberry isn’t great at any aspect of the passing game.
Coach Bowles focuses on the run game, and stopping the run game.
Like it’s the 70ties
Today’s NFL is all about the passing game.
Guess we’ll need a staff change, to join the modern league.
October 18th, 2026 at 7:57 am
“ Licht could have….”
What happened to the R of H reference?
October 18th, 2026 at 8:04 am
Kody (RG) and Ipani (C) next draft please…Barton goes to LG…Mauch a bu rg … oh wait…contract year i think….um, see if he signs cheap
October 18th, 2026 at 8:09 am
Let’s not forget that EVERY year for 5 years all of our lineman have had to learn new offenses and schemes. So that coupled with the injuries of last year have slowed the development of younger players at every position. Until this season Steelers had same coaches for 15 + years.
October 18th, 2026 at 9:49 am
I believe a big mistake the Bucs make is drafting players then moving them to a different position then what they played in college. All the experience that player had acquired is almost all lost. Then begins the learning curve. This was true with Goedeke when they had him playing left guard. It was a disaster. They move him back to right tackle, his natural position, and he looks good. This might be true with Barton too. He played left tackle( his natural position) when Wirfs was down last season he started a couple games at left tackle and he looked decent. At center he’s still going through a learning curve.
October 18th, 2026 at 10:53 am
Totally agree, @infomeplease
At this point I would like to see them trade for JPJ (If he is healthy) or that fire hydrant, Willie Lampkin from Philly. JPJ isn’t a bust, He has been injured and playing Guard the whole time. Slide Barton to Guard to see if it is a fit. Brederson would be a great backup swing G/C.
.
.
This is obviously an offseason idea as to not completely derail the offense. Minimal cost against the cap and probably would only take a late round pick.
October 18th, 2026 at 11:25 am
LOL I think Barton has much more impotant thngs to worry about. Frazier is probably the last thing on Our center’s mind. I would guess the Steelers D line and LBs would be at the top of his list.
Still paying for letting Hainsey go though. Hainsey got a bad rap.
Go Bucs!
October 18th, 2026 at 12:56 pm
He might be better off moving to G.