5 Reasons to Draft Mike Wallace in Your Fantasy Football League

Let me preface this fantasy football article by pointing out the painfully obvious: The contract situation of Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Wallace is absolutely a worry in terms of fantasy. 

There are many factors at play here for Wallace's 2012 season, and not many are good. 

He's likely going to miss a big chunk—if not all—of training camp, especially after the Steelers gave Antonio Brown a big extension as a proverbial slap in the face to Wallace. When that extension went public, this contract dispute went from difficult to DEFCON 1. 

The bigger picture here: With missed time in camp comes a more difficult transition for Wallace into Todd Haley's new offensive system. That hurts Wallace's fantasy value, even if he's back in time for the start of 2012. 

But there's also that possibility that Wallace misses regular season games—much like Vincent Jackson pulled in 2010 with the San Diego Chargers. Wallace's fantasy value could all but evaporate if he decides that sitting in 2012 is a better option than playing. 

But for the purpose of this post, we're going to attempt to put the contract stuff on the back burner. Again, it's absolutely fantasy relevant, but it defeats the entire article if we base it around a contract situation in which no one knows what will happen. 

Without any more introduction, here are five reasons why you should draft Mike Wallace in your fantasy draft. 

One of the Best Deep Threats

There are few receivers in the NFL currently who can match Wallace's proficiency catching the deep ball. 

Even last season, when the Steelers used him more underneath, Wallace caught eight passes that traveled more than 31 yards in the air. Those eight catches resulted in 471 yards and four touchdowns, including scores of 95 and 81 yards. 

Two seasons ago, Wallace averaged a staggering 21 yards per catch. He caught 11 passes that traveled over 31 yards in the air that season, with seven of them resulting in touchdowns. 

These numbers make finding a better deep threat in the game today difficult to do. 

Offensive Pieces in Place Around Him

Of course, the Steelers didn't give Antonio Brown a contract extension just as a slap in the face of Wallace. He's also a good football player who really came into his own last season as the Steelers' No. 2 receiver. 

If Wallace comes back into the fold, he'll find an offense in Pittsburgh with the pieces in place for him to have another big season. 

Brown, who caught 69 passes for 1,108 yards last season, should help take away the safety that's usually assigned to keep Wallace in check. 

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is back and healthy too, and the Steelers did enough this offseason to upgrade the offensive line.

Considering all the pieces, Wallace should be able to produce big numbers again in Pittsburgh. 

Pass-Heavy Offense in Pittsburgh?

Two factors may lead to the Steelers being a more pass-heavy offense in 2012. 

The first comes via offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who has led some top passing offenses as a coordinator. Think back to his offenses in Arizona, where Kurt Warner was throwing the ball around the yard to the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. 

The other is the recovery of running back Rashard Mendenhall, who isn't expected to play a big role in Pittsburgh in 2012 while rehabbing after ACL surgery. Without a proven running back to lean on, the Steelers may go heavy on the pass to offset Mendenhall's loss. 

Of course, a higher volume of passing means more opportunities for receivers like Wallace. Targets are an important rater of value when thinking in fantasy terms. 

Healthy Roethlisberger

Few were impacted more after Roethlisberger busted up his ankle late last season than Wallace.

Following Roethlisberger's injury against the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, Wallace caught just 13 passes for 185 yards (14.2 yards/catch) and zero touchdowns. His best performance, an 82-yard output in a 27-0 win over the St. Louis Rams in Week 16, came with Charlie Batch at the controls. 

Fast forward to 2012, however, and Roethlisberger's ankle is healthy. Plus, as we touched on in the last slide, Pittsburgh has added offensive linemen in the last two drafts to better protect its quarterback. 

Roethlisberger will always be an injury concern, but he's healthy now. For Wallace, that's good news. 

ADP Will Start to Drop

As it currently stands, Wallace's average draft position (ADP) has stayed somewhat steady. At ESPN, Wallace is still the No. 7 overall receiver, with an ADP of 26.5. 

As his contract dispute drags in camp, however, you can expect that ADP to drop. He's too risky to continue going that high, but there's going to come a point where his drop makes it a better value to grab him than pass him by. 

Obviously, Wallace isn't there yet. I personally wouldn't take him as the No. 7 receiver, but he makes a lot of sense once you get into the double-digits. The reward eventually outweighs risk with Wallace.