Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Markus Wheaton had a career day Sunday. Ostensibly the team's No. 3 receiver, Wheaton went for more than 200 yards in the Steelers' 39-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Fantasy football waiver wire advice: Markus Wheaton has monster day
Pittsburgh’s No. 3 receiver performed like a No.1 and then some in Sunday’s game. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Before Sunday, Wheaton hadn't caught more than three passes in a game all season or had more than seven targets, and both of those numbers came in Week 1; since then, his highs were two catches and four targets. But Week 12 saw Wheaton haul in nine passes on 13 targets for 201 yards and a touchdown. With the Seattle defense focusing much of its attention on top two wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, Wheaton took advantage.
Fantasy impact: It appeared to just be a situation where the Seattle pass defense is no longer strong enough to shut down an entire passing game, so the unit focused on the two most talented players and hoped Wheaton wasn't good enough to beat them. It worked, as the Seahawks won the game, but Wheaton was able to feast on Jeremy Lane to great effect.
It seems unlikely Wheaton, who had seen minimal use before Sunday, is suddenly going to be a big fantasy contributor. He’s owned in 12 percent of Yahoo! fantasy leagues, and that number will rise after Sunday, but Brown and Bryant are still the receivers you want in Pittsburgh.
