Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played with quite a few high-profile wide receivers during his career. Hines Ward headlines the list. Antonio Brown was on another level before the issues began. And we all remember his incredible Super Bowl-winning throw to Santonio Holmes.
But who would Roethlisberger count among his most underrated receivers during his career? Two names came to his mind when he was asked that question on Tuesday’s episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger.
“I’m going to feel bad because the show’s going to be over, I’m going to be like ‘Oh, I should have said so and so’…” said Roethlisberger. “I would probably say, just off the top of my head, I thought Jerricho Cotchery was such a good, I didn’t get to play with him long enough, I wish I could have played with him a lot longer. I thought he was just a really good teammate, really good receiver, great slot guy. Really brought a lot to our team.
“And then one of the first ones that came to my head, and maybe people will disagree with me because maybe they’ll be like he got a lot of credit, but maybe that makes me feel like he should have got even more, was Mike Wallace. Burnell was just, he could just flat out run, but he could do more than just run fast. He was such a weap-, he affected defenses even when he wasn’t catching passes. They were always like man, we got to know where that guy is. Safeties always had to be looking, always had to be deep. Maybe that’s not a good one, but I would say that Mike was a very, very good receiver and maybe, in my opinion, didn’t get the credit he deserved.”
And yes, Burnell is Mike Wallace’s actual first name. His middle name is Michael, hence Mike. And early on, it looked like Wallace would be a star. The Steelers drafted Wallace in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft, and he showed promise immediately. He led the NFL in yards per reception (19.4) as a rookie and finished tied for third in the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Then, in Wallace’s second season, he somehow improved his yards per catch to 21.0 and finished the season with 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns. In total, Wallace played four seasons for the Steelers and totaled 4,042 yards and 32 touchdowns. Roethlisberger certainly wasn’t kidding about Wallace’s speed, either. He averaged 17.2 yards per catch with the Steelers. And he certainly showcased his speed against the Arizona Cardinals in 2011.
With 95 days now left to go before the Steelers play the Falcons in Week 1, here is Ben Roethlisberger (@_BigBen7) going yard to Mike Wallace (@Wallace17_daKid) for a 95 yard touchdown against the Cardinals in 2011. #HereWeGo #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/dp0jFdZvpn
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) June 5, 2024
Wallace never quite had the same success anywhere else outside of his 10-touchdown season in 2014 with the Miami Dolphins. But during his early days in Pittsburgh, he certainly was a star. And Roethlisberger thinks he deserves more credit than he got. As for Wallace, it sounds like he loved his time in Pittsburgh, and no other place ever quite measured up.
And to hear Roethlisberger mention Wallace and Jerricho Cotchery in the same conversation is quite interesting. But that’s the nature of underrated, right? You sometimes have players who have great stats but are overshadowed by others like Wallace. And then you have less-heralded players who contribute in other ways, like Cotchery.
Cotchery only played for the Steelers for three seasons from 2011-13. Through his first two seasons, he wasn’t utilized all that much. He only had 33 catches and two touchdowns during those seasons. But in 2013, Cotchery (relatively) exploded for 46 catches, 602 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
Cotchery had seasons with more receiving yards during his seven years with the New York Jets. But he never had 10 touchdowns in a season before or after 2013. It was quite the breakout that Cotchery parlayed into a contract with the Carolina Panthers.
While Cotchery will probably be known to most people as a Jets player, Ben Roethlisberger valued his time with him in Pittsburgh. Sometimes, impact can’t be measured by the stats. We all want superstar receivers, but there have to be players on the roster who are great for the locker room.
