Watching Some Tape - Markus Wheaton

I know it's really hard to find time to track down game tape and sit and watch it, and as a result we forge opinions based on other people's opinions or a couple of highlight reels. I thought compiling real game film here might make it easier for people, as well as give us a thread to discuss each player. Hopefully by looking at these instead of highlight reels, we can get a more accurate picture of what these guys bring to the table. I love highlight reels, but only when I want to get pumped about a player, not when I want to really learn.

I hope you find the time to watch some and let us know what you think!

Markus Wheaton

UCLA:
[video=youtube;bIs0pFOkR74]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIs0pFOkR74[/video]

Oregon:
[video=youtube;lpdSe9kB-Ag]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpdSe9kB-Ag[/video]

Cal:
[video=youtube;h5-DwyPWQj8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5-DwyPWQj8[/video]

Stanford:
[video=youtube;IWEBd8BOAps]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWEBd8BOAps[/video]

Nice to not have to worry about character:
[video=youtube;0GZVA1goAn0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GZVA1goAn0[/video]

 

Looks like an NFL player already. Catches the ball well when he makes the catch, showing soft hands and good body control, but too many drops happening for no reason. Like AB in 2012. I don't remember hearing about a problem with drops, but he's got one. He's a willing blocker, but doesn't have much size or strength.

Doesn't seem like he's elite in any one aspect of the game, but he's good at everything. Good quickness, good deep speed, good hands (sometimes), good YAC, good blocker. He seems polished, and I really hope they put him on the field because I think he can contribute as a rookie. If he can shore up his hands he'll be a really great player.

 

Seems like I remember saying after watching his highlight reel on draft night that he seemed to get caught from behind a lot but maybe that's his qb's fault for not getting him the ball in stride. I certainly don't think he has Wallace speed but he's definitely more well rounded than him. Also from interviews I've seen with him he seems to also have his head on straight and conducts himself well which is something I value personally in my Steeler players. Also I read an article on him that said he's more of a guy that will get you in position to score as opposed to a guy that's a "take it to the house" type. I'm fine with that though now that maybe we have a pure workhorse rb.

 

First off, I just wanna say thank you very much, Snack, for putting in the time and effort to find and post these.
Since I don`t watch much college ball, except for my Buckeyes and whoever they`re playing, I usually don`t know much about other players, when draft time rolls around, except for relying on what i hear from the media, or posters online.
So I very much appreciate this, and look forward to seeing more.
As far as Wheaton goes, I very much agree with your assesment.
After watching the 1st clip, I was wondering if you included passes that he dropped...
Then when watching the next one, I wondered what the hell was going on with him, if he was just having a bad game, or tends to "give up", when his team is being killed, but even near the end of that, when they were well out of it, he made at least one or two tuff catches.
The dropsies definitely worry me... I was having visions of Sweed, all over again.
Hopefully, he will get better, and I don`t know what his overall percentage of completions, vs. drops were, for his career.
He definitely seems to give the effort, but I did see quite a few, that I couldn`t understand how he didn`t catch.
I certainly wouldn`t put him on punt return duty, based off the one play I saw, in that capacity.
I did like that he seemed willing to try to block, when he wasn`t involved in the play, but he didn`t seem to be very effective at it...
I also liked that he ALWAYS tried to get the most yardage possible, after the catch, but again, sometimes it looked like that worked against him, either trying to get too cute with his moves, or thinking about running before catching.
At least he is giving maximum effort, and that should lead to good things as he gets more experience against NFL defenses.
He also seems to be good about being aware of when he has to turn into the defender, on bad throws, and at least fight to stop an interception.
I saw the interview that you included after the games, and had the same feeling.
This kid seems to have his head on straight, and prioriteis right.
Can`t say enough about that.
Just hope he continues to be that way, when he starts getting big money. It has changed plenty of others before him.
Overall, I think they made a good pick, and he seems like he can be a solid contributer, if not a superstar.
Cut down on the drops, and maybe being a star will come.
Hopefully he also gains a bit more size and strength, and maybe gets some coaching, to improve his blocking skills.
He definitely seems like he wants to, it just doesn`t look like he`s very good at it, based on the limited sample I saw above.
GO STEELERS!!!

 

Personally, I'm not concerned with the drops. He is willing to go up after the ball and he did make some circus catches. What really impressed me was his ability to get open. Many times he wasn't just "open" but was "OPEN". I'm excited and I agree, snack, it would be a mistake not to have this kid on the field immediately! By the way, thanks for the videos and keep them coming.

 

He looks okay, not that great. I think he has enough to make the team, but past that I'm not sure.

His injury history concerns me.