Mike Wallace

A fine display, young Wallace!  Aye, and it certainly was a fine display indeed for young Mike Wallace in 2009.  Coming into his rookie season as a third-round pick out of Mississippi, Wallace wasn’t expected to be much more than a seldom-used fourth WR, but things changed pretty quickly.  Using his 4.33 speed, the rook had no problem stripping the WR3 spot from overrated Limas Sweed during the pre-season.  From there, Mike took the field on a regular basis and caught bomb after bomb after bomb en route to an NFL-leading 19.4 yards per reception.  Being the third receiver on any team means inconsistency, an aspect that remained part of Wallace’s game throughout the season, but he made a major splash in the process and gained a ton of confidence from his coaches in the process.

~  Ranked 28th in the league with 114.4WR fantasy points (basic scoring system)

~  Tied for 28th in the league with 6 receiving touchdowns

~  Tied for 47th in the league with 756 receiving yards

~  Ranked 58th in the league with 47.3 receiving yards per game

~  Tied for 104th in the league with 39 receptions

~  Ranked 88th in the league with 72 targets

~  Ranked 20th in the league with 14 receptions of 20+ yards

~  Tied for 73rd in the league with 28 catches for first downs

~  Ranked 150th in the league with 134 yards after the catch (YAC)

~  Set Career highs in every major statistical receiving category

It seems Mike Wallace took more direction from the likes of “Papa Smurf” Hines Ward his rookie year than that of the recently discarded Santonio Holmes.  Thank goodness for that, because being able to run a 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds at 6’0” tall, 200 lbs is talent you don’t want to just throw away.  Wallace will step into Holmes’ starting role this year, which could mean big things are on the horizon for the second-year receiver.  He might have a bit of a tough time in the opening stages of 2010 with Big Ben Roethlisberger suspended for at least the first 4 games, but make no mistake about it, Ben loves throwing the ball deep to whoever can get open.  He won’t be the same player that Holmes was immediately, but Pittsburgh is known for having their players ready to contribute in whatever way possible as soon as possible, so Wallace could very well end up scratching at the door of dependable fantasy WR3 status in 2010.  Take a chance.

~ Wallace will be a starter from Day 1, which might come close to doubling his targets in 2010 (72 targets in 2009)

~ If Pittsburgh wants to keep their running game steady, they’ll have to spread the field with Wallace’s speed

~ The players that could have a chance at taking away snaps from Wallace are Antwaan Randle El, Arnaz Battle, and rookie Emmanuel Sanders.  Get the point?

~ Wallace has already said that his goal for the season is to make the Pro Bowl, a goal in which he’ll have every chance to accomplish

Wallace does not have a Twitter account.  The official Team Twitter account comes through here:  Steelers Player Tweets

Follow Pyro® on Twitter @pyroman1ac

Wallace signed a rookie contract back in June of 2009 worth $1.74 million over four years.  The deal also included a $555,000 signing bonus.  Here are the specs:

2010 - $395,000

2011 - $480,000

2012 – Restricted Free Agent

Either Antwaan Randle El or the rookie Emmanuel Sanders should be the handcuff to Wallace this year

• Offensive Line


• Offensive Scheme


• Major Off-Season Moves


• 2009 NFL Draft

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