Steelers With Two Rookie Starters On Offense

(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

If I'm not mistaken, both Mike Wallace and David Johnson started the game for the Steelers. I think the last time they had two rookies start a game on offense was probably the final game of the 2004 season when Willie Parker joined Ben Roethlisberger in the lineup.

Both acquited themselves well, with Wallaceemerging as the best offensive player in the game for Pittsburgh, while Johnson did his usual solid job in the trenches and caught the first pass of his NFL career. It's particularly sweet for me, because I was touting these two as draft day steals by the team while most everyone else was obsessing over the likes of Frank Summers and A.Q. Shipley.

In an article I wrote back near the beginning of the season, I predicted that Wallace would be in the top two at the WR position by mid season, and there is every reason to believe that will happen. Ward is hurting, obviously, from a physical perspective (which was predicatable), while Holmes isn't showing much mental focus (equally predictable). I said it then, I'll say it again, look for the point where Wallace and Shaun McDonald start the game at wideout for the Steelers. I don't think that is a bad thing, either. Heath Miller has really come into his own as a receiver and David Johnson is extremely underrated in that regard. He will catch a lot more balls as the year goes on.

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