Remember that old adage that big things come in small packages? Well, that certainly applies to Markus Wheaton of the Eagles. He didn’t have the massive body that most teams look for when selecting a player, but he had that raw speed, good hands and solid run that made him a major target in the 2013 NFL Draft. It’s for this reason and more why the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him as the 79th pick in the 3rd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He had the same height issues as Donnel Pumphrey.
Before beginning his professional career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013, Markus, who is skilled at both wide receiver and kickback, played college football at Oregon State University. He currently holds the WR and KT positions for the Philadelphia Eagles, but before signing a one-year contract with the team in 2018, he played for the Chicago Bears.
Brief biography
Born February 7, 1991 in Phoenix, Arizona, Markus Levonte Wheaton began playing football at Mountain Pointe High School, where he was a student from 2005 to 2007.
As a junior, he had 23 receptions for 476 yards with 6 touchdowns and 49 tackles. He would later transfer to Chandler High School where he also played for the school football team, recording 37 receptions for 736 yards and 4 touchdowns. Markus Wheaton was selected to the All-Region First Team three times, as well as an All-State Honorable Selection.
Rivaux.com offered him a 3-star recruit and he was ranked the No. 41 top athlete in the nation. Markus not only gained fame as a soccer player at Chandler High School, but also as a sprinter. He was on the school’s track team and won the 400-meter and 200-meter races at the 2009 Chandler Invitationals, with a best time of 47.38 and 21.42 respectively.
He also competed in the 2009 5AI State Championships, running the 100 meters with a season best time of 10.81 seconds. In his final year of college, he committed to Oregon State, where he began his college career in 2009.
During his four-year college career, Markus Wheaton recorded a total of 227 receptions for 2,994 yards, with sixteen touchdowns. He also returned three kicks for 81 yards and three free kicks for 68 yards.
Like in high school, Wheaton was on the Oregon State track team represented the school in the 5A Fiesta Regional preliminaries, where he recorded a career time of 46.80 seconds over 400 meters. At the 2012 Oregon Twilight Meet, he finished second in the 100 meter race with a career best time of 10.35 seconds.
The professional career of Markus Wheaton
With the 79th pick in the 3rd round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Marcus Wheaton to a 4-year contract worth $2.81 million with a $591 guarantee. 000 dollars. His professional career debut was in a game against the Tennessee Titans and he would record his first career start a few weeks later in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. He made three catches for twenty-six yards.
He would later make a season-high three receptions for 38 yards in a game against Detriot Lions. Markus Wheaton ended his rookie season with six catches for sixty-four yards in twelve games and one start.
Along with team veteran Emmanuel Sanders moved to the Denver Broncos in 2014, leaving Wheaton with more space to fill his offense, he nevertheless closed the season with fifty-three receptions, two touchdowns in eleven games, 644 yards in reception and sixteen games.
With a total of forty-four receptions for 749 yards and five touchdowns recorded in the 2015 season, Wheaton was named No. 10 among NFL wide receivers of the year. But due to a shoulder injury, he only played three games in the 2016 season with two starts and four catches for 51 yards.
The 2016 season marked the end of his career with The Steelers signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Bears in 2017. The team released him the following year after recording just 3 receptions for 41 yards per year.
In May 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles signed him to a one-year contract.
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His parents and his family
Markus Wheaton is not the only child of hisparents -Odis and Katrina Wheaton. He has an older brother called Marquese Wheaton, who played the defensive end position at Southern Mississippi University and is currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a cornerback.
Wheaton’s father played basketball at Howard Payne University and his cousin Kenny Wheaton is a former NFL player who played defenseman for the Dallas Cowboys.
Height, weight and body statistics
The eagle is 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) tall and weighs 86 kg (189 lb). His arm length is 32 3/4 inches and his hand size is 9 1/8 inches.