Reevaluating the Pittsburgh Steelers 2013 draft class
Markus Wheaton WR, Oklahoma State – Round 3, 79th overall
The Steelers had Antonio Brown on the roster when they selected Markus Wheaton but that was close to all they had. Emmanuel Sanders was on his way out of Pittsburgh and after him was only Jerricho Cotchery.
The Steelers needed to bolster a thinned out receiving corps and it was thought that Wheaton would provide an excellent slot option to pair with Brown. That somewhat turned out to be true in Wheaton’s second and third seasons.
Wheaton put up 644 yards and two touchdowns in 2014 and 749 yards in 2015 on fewer catches along with five touchdowns. His yards per catch jumped from 12.2 to 17.0 and it looked as though he would be a viable number two option in the future.
That was short-lived when his injury issues finally caught all the way up to him in 2016 where he played in just three games that year. The Steelers decided to not re-sign the oft-injured receiver due to who else they had on the roster.
The Steelers have proven that, more often than not, they hit on receiver picks in the draft and have done a very good job finding diamonds outside the first two rounds. Some have flopped but the development of the receivers in Pittsburgh is very underrated.
Had the injuries not caught up with Wheaton, he could very well have been re-signed and may have had a respectable NFL career. Wheaton signed in Chicago, after leaving the steel city, where he played just 11 games in 2017 before one more game in 2018 in Philadelphia. His talent, quickness and speed were undeniable but, unfortunately so was his injury history and risk.