2013 Fantasy Outlook: Mike Wallace

Information is constantly changing in the NFL and fantasy player values can change at any moment. Having updated, informative news can help you not just at your fantasy football draft but during the regular season. Feel free to glance at our recent articles to make sound decisions throughout the year.

To help you get ready for draft day you will notice articles for ADP advice, cheat sheets, mock drafts and projected stats for Mike Wallace here. During the season, you can also find regular weekly ranking articles at this section as well.

Welcome to Mike Wallace fantasy football outlook archive. At this section of Wallace’s player page you will notice our past thoughts and advice for fantasy football.

Summer of 2012: Fantasy Projections

If the Steelers aren’t worried about Mike Wallace’s contract situation, then we shouldn’t be worried. This is one of the better franchises (makes me sick to my stomach to say that) in the league and he’s likely to be practicing by training camp.

Wallace has to be the top deep threat outside of Calvin Johnson in the game. Problem is, while Wallace will be great in this area, he doesn’t do much else as a route runner.

Antonio Brown quickly took over as Ben Roethlisberger’s go to receiver in key third-down situations and he will lead the team in receptions as the possession option, opposite Wallace.

While Wallace needs to continue to develop as a route runner, I believe he can, as he was extremely raw coming out of Old Miss.

I’m usually hesitant to rank even the best game breakers with clear deficiencies as recommendable WR1 targets on draft day. Currently going as the 12th receiver off the board in ADP trends for both standard and PPR leagues, I feel this would be a fair landing spot, as a late WR1 to early WR2 addition.

	Receptions	Yards	TD
2012 Projected Stats	60	1,055	7

Summer of 2011: Fantasy Projections

You never know which players are going to make a big impact in the league, as Mike Wallace didn’t figure to make an immediate impact with Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward in front of him in 2009. The third round pick, went on to use his blazing speed to make an impact in year one and with the departure of Holmes, last off-season, he was given a full time job.

Wallace looked like a receiver who could suffer from a the loss of Ben Roethlisberger for the first four to six weeks, but instead he flourish, in his second year as he started every game, totaled over 1,200 yards receiving (21 yards per catch average) and scored ten touchdowns on the season. To me, Wallace represents everything I thought Holmes was going to be for this team when he was a first round pick, years ago.

While Holmes was a skilled player, he never seemed to be the dominant down the field presence that Wallace is and will be in the future. With Roethlisberger in the prime of his career, Wallace is a clear top ten pick in standard redraft leagues and a top ten receiver to own in dynasty leagues.

Coming into the summer, Wallace’s ADP value as listed on Mock Draft Central has him as the 11th best (31.52 overall) receiver in standard redraft leagues and the 14th best (37.50) in PPR scoring leagues. I actually believe Wallace is a little undervalued for those rankings, as he’s our seventh best in standard leagues and a top ten in PPR. True, his 60 receptions limits him some in PPR, but remember, he didn’t have Roethlisberger for the first month, and the big man isn’t facing a suspension (let’s hope it stays that way) this season.

With Ward and Heath Miller and a respectable running game, the Steelers offense is prime to allow Wallace to find, consistent success and growth in this offense, without having all the pressure on his shoulders. Look for Wallace to continue his growth progression in only his third year in the league.

	Receptions	Yards	TD
2011 Projected Stats	72	1,297	11

2010 Preview

Mike Wallace saw his fantasy value take a big jump after Santonio Holmes was traded to the Jets. Look for Wallace as the favorite to start opposite Hines Ward and be Ben Roethlisberger’s main deep threat option.

2010 Fantasy Football Outlook

2009 Fantasy Year In Review: Mike Wallace busted out onto the scene as the Steelers third receiver in a pass happy offense. Just a rookie, Wallace posted over 750 yards receiving (19.4 avg) on only 39 receptions. This was impressive and it was also nice to see him add six touchdowns as well.

Audio: WR Mike Wallace | 2010 NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings

2010 NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings: The offseason has given Wallace good and bad as his quarterback is suspended for at least the first month, the team is going to run more but Santonio Holmes is gone. With Holmes’s departure Wallace is primed to be the teams’ starter opposite Hines Ward.

Early this summer some are building up Wallace’s name as a player that could be the teams top producer because Ward is now 34-yards old. While that sounds nice, I still have my doubts as we need to see Wallace prove he can be consistent with defenses focusing more attention and talent on him.

Many have doubted Ward and at his age it’s easy to write him off but remember he did have over 1,100 yards receiving last season and is a polished pro. Wallace, on the other hand, will be in his first year as a starter and his second as a pro. Byron Leftwich is returning from a year absence with the Buccaneers to be the teams starter with Ben Roethlisberger suspended.

That means Leftwich spent zero time working with Wallace last year, but he is familiar with players like Ward and Heath Miller. One would have to speculate that the Steelers will use Wallace as the true deep threat in the offense, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is Miller and Ward that post more targets and receptions.

Even though Wallace will be a starter this year I don’t recommend you select him as even a flex play starter to begin the season. Look for Wallace as a great player to have on your depth chart on draft day and let’s see if he is truly ready to take the next step in his career.

Assets

- Big Plays

- Will Start

- Good Overall Team

Liabilities

- Big Ben Out At Least First Month

- Projected Run First Offense