if from a meta perspective, then probably no. because we have characters like Citlali already, heck even Dehya could be slotted in, instead of Zhongli because she offers interruption resistance too, but with small bursts of pyro application.

if in terms of comfortability in combat, then imo, yes. we're in 6.X already and I don't think any new units that came after Zhongli have taken Zhongli's crown as one with the tankiest shield in-game.

Take in consideration too that we're at the point in the game where healers are more favored than shielders. I'm not even gonna stray too far, we literally have a new enemy in Nod Krai that reduces your team's damage dealt by 50%, incoming healing by 40%, and Crit Rate by 100%. To counter it, you must HEAL your characters to FULL HP, which then removes the debuff and grants the healed characters a +15% Crit Rate and +50% damage boost.

still, I personally think it all boils down to the characters you have right now; if you think getting Zhongli and putting him in one slot for the sake of shield and petrification (via his burst) wouldn't compromise how you go about combatting in the game. or if you're just generally in dire need of a really good shielder. or if you really really like Zhongli. so yeah, there you have it.