Martavis Bryant's average draft position (ADP) has been skyrocketing in recent weeks, mainly due to the performance he put up during the team's OTAs. Currently the 24th receiver off the board, the second-year receiver is expected to put up bottom-end WR2 numbers.
Those expectations could very well be muted following comments Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made in a recent appearance on Sirius XM Radio:
"I think Markus Wheaton is our breakout player of the year," the Super Bowl-winning quarterback said. "I want that. I want him to have that pressure. Because when we're in two wide receivers, he's our No. 2. And we're asking him to play outside. And we go three wide receivers, we ask him to move inside."
Bryant, a fourth-round pick of the Steelers back in 2014, put up a great rookie campaign last year. He tallied 26 receptions for 549 yards and eight scores. And while Bryant received only 48 targets through the season, he was still able to finish as a decent FLEX option in standard 12-team leagues. If he is indeed relegated to the No. 3 receiver role, Bryant's current ADP suggests that he will be overdrafted, especially considering the continued presence of Antonio Brown as Big Ben's primary target in the passing game.
In terms of what this means for Markus Wheaton, it's pretty darn big. A third-round pick back in 2013, Wheaton tallied 53 receptions for 644 yards and two scores last year. He also collected an average of over five targets in 16 games (11 starts). If, as Roethlisberger indicated, Wheaton is going to be the team's breakout player on offense, the expectation here has to be that he will receive more targets in 2015. And based solely on what might have been a fluky reception-to-touchdown ratio, his scores should also increase.
The one potential to look at here is thinking long and hard about rostering both Bryant and Wheaton as solid FLEX options depending on trends throughout the season. Both are going to play big roles in what's going to be a dynamic passing offense in Pittsburgh. If Bryant's ADP drops to the mid 30's among wide receivers based on this news, he might be worth a mid-round selection with Wheaton coming a couple rounds later.