Scott Brown, ESPN Pittsburgh Steelers reporter 10y

Cotchery influence helps Wheaton emerge

PITTSBURGH – They still exchange occasional text messages, but it’s a wonder Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Markus Wheaton did not experience some separation anxiety after Jerricho Cotchery signed with the Carolina Panthers in March.

Wheaton attached himself to Cotchery last season, shadowing the veteran wide receiver the way a cornerback would as Wheaton made the transition from college to the NFL.

The two were as natural a pairing as peanut butter and jelly. Both are soft-spoken and hard-working, and Cotchery was as eager to mentor as Wheaton was to learn from him.

What Wheaton gleaned from Cotchery is starting to pay off in his second NFL season.

The 5-11, 182-pound Wheaton has caught 11 passes for 135 yards in two games, already doubling his production from 2013, when a recurring finger injury sabotaged his rookie season.

True to his nature, Cotchery did not take any credit for Wheaton’s early success this season, saying the rookie simply needed to an opportunity to show what he can do.

“Every time he got on the field [last season], he made plays,” Cotchery said. “We saw that early on in the year last year before he broke his finger. Going into the Minnesota game in London, we had a good package for him and he was ready to go. I think he played a good game in that Minnesota game, but unfortunately he got hurt and it kind of set him back.”

The broken pinkie finger – and the depth chart with the players ahead of Wheaton at wide receiver, including Cotchery – limited the 2013 third-round pick to six catches and 64 yards.

But Wheaton said learning the game from Cotchery proved to be invaluable, and the veteran -- now in his 11th NFL season -- taught him how to watch game film as well as take notes during meetings.

Taking notes sounds easy enough, but imagine sitting in a class and writing down everything the professor says. That is what Wheaton initially tried to do, and he often found himself lost as he scribbled furiously in his notebook.

“It was a little bit overwhelming, so [Cotchery] taught me what to pay attention to,” Wheaton said. “He taught me how to focus on what’s important and what’s not.”

Cotchery has since moved on to Carolina and started mentoring another rookie wide receiver in Panthers first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin. Cotchery said he expects great things from Benjamin.

The same can also be said for Wheaton, whom Cotchery now follows from afar.

“I knew once he got on the field, he was going to go out there and make plays,” Cotchery said.

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