Markus Wheaton was a highly-touted player in the 2013 NFL draft, as he is exactly the type of player the Steelers look for in a receiver; Quick, fast, great hands and a true playmaker. During his career at Oregon State, Wheaton had a break-out year in his senior season, recording 91 receptions good for 1,244 yards and 11 touchdowns. Heading into Week 15, Wheaton’s numbers have been less than desirable as he has six receptions for 64 yards on the year.
In Training camp, Wheaton was praised by safety Ryan Clark. Clark went on record to say that Wheaton was better than Mike Wallace in every facet of the game, except speed. Clearly an unfair comparison to any rookie with zero experience trying to make a team, let alone become an immediate impact.
During the preseason, Wheaton stayed grounded and continued to produce in a limited role. In four preseason games, he caught nine passes for 139 yards and one touchdown. When the Steelers lost Plaxico Burress for the season, it looked as if Wheaton’s role would continue to blossom. Unfortunately for Wheaton, his rookie season hasn’t gone as planned.
The same could be said for Derek Moye, the Penn State product. Moye looked to be the replacement for Burress. At 6’5 and 210 pounds, Moye had the frame to be a red-zone target for Big Ben. During the preseason, the former Nittany Lion caught 10 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown. Moye and Wheaton were transitioning their style of play as both were becoming stronger both physically and mentally.
In their defense, nobody expected the production from Antonio Brown and especially that of Jericho Cotchery. Brown has become Big Ben’s main target with 90 receptions on the year good for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns. Cotchery, like Brown, is having a career year in Pittsburgh, as he leads the Steelers with nine touchdowns. However, what about Will Johnson, David Paulson, and David Johnson? Paulson, a tight end who cannot block or stretch the field vertically, was vaulted into the starting lineup during the first two weeks of the regular season. While Will Johnson and David Johnson are strong blockers in the offensive scheme, neither of them will ever strike fear into opponents when the Steelers go to the air.
One would believe that Wheaton and Moye would have been more of a threat down-field than fullbacks and reserve tight-ends. At the end of the day, it is in this team’s best interests to tailor their offensive scheme towards its most athletic play-makers. Todd Haley disagrees and for that, Haley is the reason why players like Wheaton and Moye, who played extremely well in the preseason, poised to make modest contributions, have been distant memories. For an offensive coordinator who has been scrutinized much of the year by players, media outlets, fans, and so on for his lack of preparation and poor decision making, this is just another reason why Haley should be relieved of his duties in the offseason.
We also have to consider that injuries are very common in the workplace of the NFL as Wheaton’s playing time would suffer due to his missed time. A fractured finger that he sustained in the Minnesota game would force Wheaton to miss four games in the middle of the season, subsequently pushing him down the depth chart. Moye on the other hand, was simply overlooked by poor decision making.
Through all of this, Wheaton and Moye continue to work. While some players would see this as a negative, both of these players push forward with goals set in mind and with Emmanuel Sanders who could be playing his way out of Pittsburgh with a rather disappointing season. Wheaton and Moye will almost certainly have more opportunities next season and quite possibly could see more playing time in the final three games of this season.
