Markus Wheaton
Markus Levonte Wheaton (born February 7, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver and kick returner. He played college football for Oregon State University and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.
 Wheaton with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013 | |||||||||
| No. 11, 12, 80 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | February 7, 1991 Phoenix, Arizona | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Chandler (Chandler, Arizona) | ||||||||
| College: | Oregon State | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2013 / Round: 3 / Pick: 79 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2018 | |||||||||
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Early years
Wheaton was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He attended Mountain Pointe High School, and played for the Mountain Pointe Pride high school football team from 2005–2007. He had 23 receptions for 476 yards and six touchdowns as a junior, and added 49 tackles on defense. He also attended Chandler High School, and played for the Chandler Wolves high school football team. He recorded 736 yards receiving on 37 receptions with four touchdowns as a senior. He was a three-time first-team all-region and honorable mention all-state selection. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated the No. 41 athlete in the nation. He committed to Oregon State.[1]
Wheaton was also a standout sprinter for the Chandler High School track team. He won both the 200-meter dash (21.42s) and 400-meter dash (47.38s) at the 2009 Chandler Invitationals. He also ran a season-best time of 10.81 seconds in the 100 meters at the 2009 5AI State Championships.[2]
College career
While attending Oregon State University, Wheaton played for the Oregon State Beavers football team from 2009 to 2012. As a senior in 2012, he was a first-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection.[3] During his college career, he recorded 227 receptions for 2,994 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Wheaton was also on the Oregon State University track team. He ran a career-best time of 46.80 seconds in the 400 meters at the prelims of the 5A Fiesta Regional Championships. He finished 2nd in the 100 meters at the 2012 Oregon Twilight Meet, with a time of 10.58 seconds. He was also timed at 10.35 seconds in the 100 meters.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
189 lb (86 kg) |
32 3⁄4 in (0.83 m) |
9 1⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
4.45 s | 1.59 s | 2.50 s | 4.02 s | 6.80 s | 37 in (0.94 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
20 reps | |
| All values from the NFL Combine and Central Florida Pro Day.[4][5] | ||||||||||||
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers picked Wheaton in the third round, with the 79th overall pick, of the 2013 NFL Draft. He signed a 4-year contract for $2.81 million with $591,000 guaranteed.
2013 season
Wheaton made his NFL debut on September 8, 2013 against the Tennessee Titans. On September 29, 2013, Wheaton made his first career start and made 3 catches for 26 yards in a 34–27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. During a Week 11 matchup with the Detroit Lions, he made a season-high 3 receptions for 38 yards. He finished his rookie season with 6 catches for 64 yards in 12 games and 1 start.
2014 season
During the 2014 offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to the Denver Broncos via free agency. With the loss of Sanders, Wheaton was given a larger role in the offense.
On September 7, 2014, he started the season opener against the Cleveland Browns and ended the game with a season-high 6 receptions and 97 yards. In Week 8, Wheaton made 5 catches for 56-yards and caught his first career touchdown in a 51–34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. The next game, he caught 2 passes for 62 receiving yards and scored a 47-yard touchdown in a win over the Baltimore Ravens. He played in his first career postseason game on January 3, 2015, and made 5 receptions for 66-yards in a 17-30 loss to the Ravens. He finished his second season with 53 receptions, 644 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns in 11 starts and 16 games.[6]
2015 season
Wheaton began appearing more in the slot position as Martavis Bryant emerged last season. With Bryant becoming more solidified in the offense, Wheaton was poised to become a full-time receiver during 2015.[7] Wheaton began the season starting against the New England Patriots and caught 3 passes for 55-yards in a 28–21 loss. On October 12, 2015, he caught a 72-yard touchdown pass from Michael Vick in a 24–20 victory at the San Diego Chargers. During a Week 12 loss at Seattle, Wheaton made a career-high 9 catches for 201-yards and scores on a 69-yard touchdown. On December 20, 2015, he continued to make progress as he made 6 receptions for 62-yards and a touchdown in a 34–27 victory over the Denver Broncos. Wheaton finished the regular season with 44 receptions for 749 yards and 5 touchdowns, and his 17.0 yards per reception was No. 10 among NFL wide receivers in 2015.[8]
2016 season
Wheaton played in three games in the 2016 season with two starts recording four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown before suffering a shoulder injury. He was placed on injured reserve on November 19, 2016.[9]
Chicago Bears
On March 10, 2017, Wheaton signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Bears.[10]
On March 14, 2018, Wheaton was released by the Bears after recording only three receptions for 41 yards in 2017.[11]
Philadelphia Eagles
On May 2, 2018, Wheaton signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.[12] He was released by the team on September 12, 2018.[13] He retired on January 22, 2019.
Career statistics
| Career High |
Regular season
| Season | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||||||||
| 2013 | PIT | 12 | 1 | 6 | 64 | 10.7 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2014 | PIT | 16 | 11 | 53 | 644 | 12.2 | 47 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2015 | PIT | 16 | 8 | 44 | 749 | 17.0 | 72 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2016 | PIT | 3 | 2 | 4 | 51 | 12.8 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2017 | CHI | 11 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 17.0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 58 | 22 | 110 | 1,549 | 14.2 | 72 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Personal life
Wheaton's cousin, Kenny Wheaton, played defensive back for the Dallas Cowboys.
References
- "Markus Wheaton". yahoo.com.
- "Markus Wheaton". Athletic.net.
- "Crichton, Poyer, Jenkins and Wheaton Earn Pac-12 First Team - OREGON …". January 30, 2013. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.
- "Markus Wheaton Draft Profile – NFL.com". NFL.com.
- "Latavius Murray - Central Florida, RB : 2013 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". nfldraftscout.com.
- "NFL Player Profile:Markus Wheaton". NFL.com. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
- Patra, Kevin. "Markus Wheaton embraces slot receiver role". Retrieved June 19, 2015.
- "Markus Wheaton Advanced Stats and Metrics Profile: Yards Per Reception". PlayerProfiler.com.
- Varley, Teresa (November 19, 2016). "Dupree activated; Heyward, Wheaton to IR". Steelers.com.
- Mayer, Larry (March 10, 2017). "Bears sign receiver Markus Wheaton". ChicagoBears.com.
- Mayer, Larry (March 14, 2018). "Roster moves: Bears release Glennon, Wheaton, Cooper". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018.
- Gowton, Brandon Lee (May 2, 2018). "Markus Wheaton, Eagles officially agree to contract". BleedingGreenNation.com.
- Foley, Graham (September 12, 2018). "Eagles Bring Back Kamar Aiken, Release Markus Wheaton". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.