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30 greatest Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2000s

By Tommy Jaggi

PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 18: Safety Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown with defensive end Brett Keisel against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - JANUARY 18: Safety Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown with defensive end Brett Keisel against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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LATROBE, PA – JULY 29: An NFL football sits on the practice field during the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on July 29, 2011 at St Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
LATROBE, PA – JULY 29: An NFL football sits on the practice field during the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on July 29, 2011 at St Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /

27. Mike Wallace, WR (2009)

Mike Wallace may have only been a 3rd round pick back in 2009, but it didn’t take him long to explode onto the NFL scene.

Wallace was known really for one thing: his blazing speed. At the NFL Combine, Wallace clocked an official 4.33s in the 40-yard dash. However, that doesn’t do him justice for his play speed on the football field.

Mike Wallace would burn defensive backs so often that they started giving him 10-15 yards of cushion underneath. In fact, oftentimes you wouldn’t even be able to see the cornerback in a broadcast view from your television set, because they played so far back – afraid to get beat deep by Wallace.

Wallace reeled in a remarkable 756 yards and 6 touchdowns on just 72 targets as a rookie. In just his second NFL season, Wallace managed 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns on 98 targets. To put that into perspective, Antonio Brown had 1,284 yards and 12 touchdowns on 154 targets in 2016.

Mike Wallace really was a one-trick-pony, but that trick was so special, that the things he couldn’t do didn’t even matter. He provided a whole new level of speed to the position for the Steelers.

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