From Mike Wallace to Emmanuel Sanders to Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has a recent track record of acquiring impactful wide receivers in the latter rounds of the NFL draft.
Wallace was a third round pick in the 2009 draft before he signed a massive contract in free agency with the Miami Dolphins in 2013. Sanders followed a similar path to Wallace, as he signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos this year after being drafted in the third round of the 2010 draft. The only receiver of the trio who remains on the roster is Brown, a player who was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 draft along with Sanders. Brown and Sanders were expected to be the team's long-term starters at one point, so when Sanders left there was a void that needed to be filled.
That void was filled with another third round pick, this time from the 2013 draft.
Markus Wheaton barely played as a rookie. He was trapped behind Brown, Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery on the depth chart at receiver, while Heath Miller's presence at tight end meant that the Steelers weren't ever desperate for a fourth receiving option. Wheaton had just six receptions for 64 yards in 12 games. Yet, in spite of his lack of production, the hype around his potential never really died down. Maybe it was that he was loved as a prospect by many draft analysts or maybe it was the Steelers' track record at the position, but Wheaton was being given a lot of praise that he hadn't really earned at the NFL level.
In this year's preseason, tha praise looked to be misguided. He struggled to make an impact and never appeared to be on the same page as his quarterback for consecutive plays. While the preseason must always be taken with a level of skepticism, it wasn't a good sign for a second-year, slated starter who had no tape to fall back on.
For fantasy owners and Steelers fans alike, that made his Week 1 display against the Cleveland Browns more about relief than joy.
Wheaton was facing the Cleveland Browns and spent most of his time working against rookie Justin Gilbert. Gilbert was a first round pick, a top 10 pick in fact, of this year's draft, but he was always likely to struggle early because he is a raw talent playing one of the toughest positions to transition to in the NFL. Against Gilbert and the Browns, Wheaton had as many receptions as he had all of last season, six, for more yards, 97, and the biggest play of his career, a 40 yarder.
That 40 yarder was his first reception of the game, late in the first quarter.
Gilbert was lined up in press coverage, but Wheaton was a pace or two behind the line of scrimmage in his stance. Despite lining up at the line of scrimmage, Gilbert doesn't look to initiate contact at the snap. Instead, he drops backwards and slightly infield to show Wheaton the sideline. Gilbert is a phenomenal athlete, so he won't fear running with any receiver down the sideline, even in the NFL. Wheaton's speed allows him to get on top of Gilbert and pull away from him when Gilbert turns to locate the football.
Even though Gilbert trips himself up somewhat, Wheaton still has to make a very impressive reception.
It doesn't seem like much initially, but at the speed Wheaton is moving, it would be very easy for him to be unaware of his positioning on the field and precisely where the sideline is. If he continued moving his feet in a natural motion as the ball arrived, he would only have had one foot in bounds when the football arrived in his hands. Instead, Wheaton drags his right foot and maintains his concentration on the football to pull it in with his hands for the reception.
Once his second reception came around, it had become apparent that this kind of catch was in Wheaton's repoirtoire.
Dragging your feet is a very simple movement on its own. Doing it while catching a football is less simple and doing it while catching a football going out of bounds is even tougher. This may be a minor aspect of Wheaton's game that can have a large impact. It's the kind of footwork and concentration that has made Reggie Wayne one of the most consistent receivers in the NFL over the past decade.
Good footwork is the first step to good route running.
For his third reception, Wheaton runs a decent slant route against Gilbert. Crucially, he hesitates at his release before attacking the sideline to turn Gilbert. At the perfect time, he cuts back infield so that Gilbert can't mirror his movement. However, Wheaton does allow himself to get held up for a split second instead of being more aggressive throughout his cut. A better cornerback may have been able to hold him up here.
Wheaton followed this play up with two curl routes. On the first he created a small window before catching the ball with his chest and breaking a tackle, but it was the second play that really stood out.
Roethlisberger throws a very poor pass here. If Wheaton hadn't made an exceptional adjustment to the football, it would have been in a position that would have given a cornerback in decent coverage an easy interception. Gilbert wasn't in decent coverage though and that was largely because of Wheaton's route. Wheaton's route was so sharp and quick that the defensive back fell over as he tried to recover his position. He never even had a chance to look for the ball as he had to focus on tackling Wheaton when he saw the receiver extend for the football.
Quality of competition is always very important when judging receivers or cornerbacks. More than anyone else on the field, what they do is in relation to who they face. Clearly Wheaton's quality of opponent wasn't what it can be in this game. However, that shouldn't dampen what was a very impressive display.
Wheaton showed off the skill set of a player who can be more than an above-average starter in the NFL. He has good size, speed, agility, footwork and ball skills. In the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, he should be given opportunities to attack different areas of the field. One thing that needs to be proven is his ability with the ball in his hands. He may need to creat his own opportunities for yards after the catch because the Steelers have a variety of different options in the screen game already.
At just 23 years of age with one NFL start under his belt, it's still very much unclear what Wheaton can become. His skill set suggests he can maybe be a somewhat watered down version of Julio Jones. Jones is a greater physical specimen, but they both appear to win in similar ways. Playing across from Antonio Brown will aid Wheaton also, because he should draw the tougher assignments from the opposition's coverage.
It should also be noted that receivers typically take big steps in their development from year one to year two.
Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace is a player who seemingly peaked at the start of his career. Since he held out of training camp before his final year with the Steelers, Wallace's play has seemingly been in decline. He was still an above average starter in Pittsburgh for his final year, but ther was an element on unreliability creeping into his game.
That element expanded to take over his play during his first year with the Miami Dolphins. During their first year together, Wallace and quarterback Ryan Tannehill couldn't create any chemistry. They never developed an understanding on the field and failed to consistently create big plays or take advantaeg of Wallace's ability with the ball in his hands.
Part their struggles must be attributed to the quailty of the team's offensive line and the questionable scheme they played in, but the first game of the 2014 season suggested that Wallace is still an enigmatic figure.
New offensive coordinator Bill Lazor allowed Wallace's first two receptions to come on shallow crossing routes. He caught the first for a good gain, but on the second the disconnect between he and Tannehill could be seen. Wallace adjusted to a pass that was thrown slightly behind him to make the reception. He turned back to continue running across the field, at which time he was hit by an incoming defender and lost the football. Wallace should have held onto the ball in this situation.
It's unclear if Tannehill simply forced Wallace to make a tough reception and made it more difficult for him to secue the football or if Wallace failed to understand that Tannehill was trying to warn him of the incoming defender by throwing the ball slightly behind him.
A few minutes later, Wallace ran a deep crossing route against Darrelle Revis for a big reception down the field. Wallace may have beaten Revis, but it's also possible that Revis was expecting the safety to assume responsibility for him when he broke across the field, thus leaving him free. Most importantly, Wallace made a good adjustment on a poorly thrown pass from Tannehill.
Wallace and Tannehill struggled in the first half of this game.
After Wallace's fumble in the first quarter, Tannehill followed up with a bad interception on a throw in Wallace's direction. It appeared that Wallace was supposed to arc back behind the defensive back to run into the end zone for the touchdown, but Tannehill severely underthrew the ball as he didn't adjust to the pressure that was arriving in the pocket.
Tannehill attempted to make up for his interception with a touchdown throw before halftime. He should have had it too, but Wallace showed off his struggles again.
This is the kind of play that highlights how frustraiting it is to own Wallace in fantasy and support him as Dolphins fan. He does the difficult part by running a double move to create separation in behind Darrelle Revis, but falls out of bounds as he makes the reception. Tannehill didn't lead Wallace out of bounds, the throw was perfectly placed. Wallace simply didn't maintain his balance long enough to make the reception. Better ball skills would have gone a long way here.
On the next throw that Tannehill sent in Wallace's direction, Wallace got inside of Revis on a post route. Revis stayed on his back and was able to punch the ball away because Wallace didn't work towards the football once it was in the air.
Wallace wasn't having issues getting open. On a deep out route down the left sideline, Tannehill threw an accurate pass on time so that he didn't have to make a difficult reception. Wallace was seemingly slow to come out of his break and turn around to locate the football. That resulted in the ball bouncing off of his helmet.
For his touchdown reception in the third quarter, Tannehill forced a ball into very tight coverage.
Wallace made an attempt to beat Revis to the football, but Revis played great coverage to knock it away. Even though Wallace didn't win at the catch point, the ball rebounded to Wallace for the touchdown reception in the end zone. Even though it's a minor move on one play, Wallace's reaction on this play was impressive and his willingness to initially extend for it was encouraging considering how often he wouldn't have made a similar effort in the past.
At the end of this game, Wallace had seven receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. He made a number of impressive plays and had a number of bad plays.
If Lazor can get Wallace and Tannehill to improve their understanding, the potential for huge production is here. Lazor looks set to get the ball to Wallace in more ways than Mike Sherman ever did last year. At this stage, it still appears that Wallace is going to be a variance player who has very good weeks and very bad weeks. At the very least, he performed relatively well in what is likely to be his toughest matchup of the season.
Other Thoughts from Week 1
Kelvin Benjamin didn't play with Cam Newton in Week 1, but he was still impressive. Benjamin and Cooks look set to be the best rookie receivers because the Buffalo Bills have issues at quarterback with EJ Manuel's limitations and too many weapons to focus in on Watkins. Mike Evans isn't in a good situation either as the Buccaneers offensive line and quarterback appear to be holding them back. Odell Beckham Jrhas yet to see the field as his hamstrings have prevented him from getting on the field.
Antonio Brown remains one of the very best receivers in the NFL, while Joe Haden remains a player you shouldn't fear when your fantasy receivers face him. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers run defense is putrid. The Browns were able to dominate the unit without first-choice starter Ben Tate on the field. It's the kind of defense you should be hoping to face.
Allen Hurns may have faded out of the Jaguars game against the Philadelphia Eagles after a fast start, but he showed the ability to get open later in the game also. Hurns has the talent to be a quality starter eventually even if he doesn't replicate that production again this season. He could very easily become Blake Bortles' number one receiver when he takes over.
Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson were drafted to be Bortles' primary receivers, but Lee struggled somewhat against the Eagles. Most of his production came on the final drive of the game against prevent coverage. After missing most of the preseason, it appears that the Jaguars are still figuring out what to do with Allen Robinson. Robinson was thrown to underneath and on screen passes, the kinds of plays that didn't really make sense for someone with his skill set.
Shonn Greene was terrible in the preseason. He struggled in pass proteciton, ball security, as a runner and with injury. However, in Week 1, Greene showed excellent vision and a decent burst running behind a very effective offensive line. Chance Warmack in particular stood out as he settles into his career after underachieving as a rookie.
Nobody should be concerned about Eddie Lacy moving forward. He played outstanding football against the Seahawks, but couldn't overcome an overmatched offensive line. Similarly, Jarrett Boykin is a receiver worth holding onto despite being shut down by Richard Sherman. Boykin did beat Sherman once or twice, even though Rodgers didn't throw his way and he should stay on the field almost as much as the team's starters.
