Demarcus Ayers

Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette was asked how the team's depth chart would shake out. His response:

"Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Eli Rogers in the slot. Backups: Sammie Coates and Darrius Heyward-Bey. If they keep six, Cobi Hamilton or Demarcus Ayers."

Last week, Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) of the Observer-Reporter gave us the heads up about Rogers' likely role in the slot. If this holds, then Coates is being severely overdrafted in the 9th/10th round of fantasy drafts and Rogers is a deep sleeper, especially in PPR formats. We've favored Wheaton in our rankings all summer, the concern is that he'll now be competing directly with Coates for snaps, and if he doesn't carry over the momentum from late last season, he could find himself on the bench. On the plus side, Wheaton is currently starting in a high-octane passing attack and if that continues, he'll be a steal in the 10th/11th round. He'll have to prove that he can consistently get open on the outside, but he's apparently done enough in camp to earn the starting job.