Football <\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 history is full of legendary players, most of whom have played on the defensive side of the ball. However, they\u2019ve had many great offensive players, too. Several are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and more are likely to join them, with Ben Roethlisberger a candidate for the 2027 class. Pittsburgh has had plenty of more underrated offensive players, too. Bryant McFadden recently singled out former Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace as one player who doesn\u2019t get the credit he deserves.<\/p>\n
\u201cMike Wallace was different,\u201d McFadden said on the With the First Pick podcast.<\/a> \u201cWe had some dogs. And Bruce Arians used to talk so much trash and used to be like, \u2018Well, guys, how y\u2019all want to die today? You want to die fast or slow?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cMeaning, if you press, we\u2019re going up top. If you play off, we\u2019re gonna work our way down the football field against you\u2026 Mike Wallace is an unheralded Steeler great, in my opinion. Because he was phenomenal for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The Steelers selected Wallace in the third round of the 2009 draft, and he played for them for four seasons. In that time, he made one Pro Bowl and reached 1,000 receiving yards<\/a>\u00a0twice. Wallace had blazing speed, and that made him a good fit with Ben Roethlisberger.<\/p>\n Compared to some other Steelers receivers, Wallace might not seem as impressive. Antonio Brown, Lynn Swann, Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, and John Stallworth all have more impressive resum\u00e9s than Wallace.<\/p>\n However, that shouldn\u2019t take away from what Wallace accomplished in Pittsburgh. McFadden is correct that the receiver was one of Pittsburgh\u2019s top players for a brief time. He was the Steelers\u2019 No. 1 receiver during their run to Super Bowl XLV. While they lost that game, Wallace was a key piece of their team at that time.<\/p>\n Also, Wallace\u2019s career didn\u2019t end after he left Pittsburgh. He never hit the same highs, but he played another six seasons in the NFL. Perhaps Wallace would\u2019ve had more success had he spent his entire career<\/a> with the Steelers.<\/p>\n What\u2019s done is done, though. Wallace was still a solid NFL player. While he might not get the same attention as other Steelers receivers, he clearly earned his peers\u2019 respect.<\/p>\n