It's fair to say that wide receiver Mike Wallace has never matched the heights of his sophomore season in the NFL when he caught 60 passes for 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now on his third team in four years, Wallace is coming off a somewhat disappointing season with the Miami Dolphins. Despite catching ten touchdowns again, Wallace wasn't nearly as effective on downfield passes as he was in the past. However, some of that is due to Ryan Tannehill's struggles throwing deep.
Tannehill ranked tied for 30th and 34th, respectively, in vertical yards per attempt (YPA) and stretch vertical YPA last season. As a result, ESPN NFL Insider KC Joyner believes Wallace is being undervalued in fantasy football. He argues that Wallace's new quarterback, Minnesota Vikings rising star Teddy Bridgewater, will help him bounce back.
"Now Wallace joins a Minnesota team with Teddy Bridgewater under center," Joyner wrote. "This could be a huge boon for Wallace, as over the last five weeks of the 2014 season, Bridgewater ranked fourth in vertical YPA (13.4) and sixth in stretch vertical YPA (16.0). This continues a trend at Louisville where Bridgewater posted powerful passing numbers nearly across the board.
"Even if Wallace doesn't return to the time when he was proved capable of posting top-of-the-league receiving totals, he should be able to contend for WR1 status with the accurate Bridgewater throwing passes his way."
Bridgewater's strong play down the stretch and improved offensive weapons have many around the NFL expecting a breakout season from the young QB. This would obviously help Wallace's fantasy stock. But it should be noted that Wallace has been a feast-or-famine fantasy option over the years. Last season, he scored double digit fantasy points in standard scoring leagues seven times while failing to exceed eight points in seven other contests. Very boom-or-bust.
Wallace's numbers may rise with Minnesota, but he'll never be the model of consistency as a fantasy WR.
