Michael Wilson
Receiving Statistics
Season GP REC YDS TD Long REC/G AVG/C AVG/G
2018 13 14 126 1 26 1.1 9.0 9.7
2019 12 56 672 5 47 4.7 12.0 56.0
2020 4 19 261 1 38 4.8 13.7 65.3
2021 4 19 185 0 19 4.8 9.7 46.3
2022 6 26 418 4 78 4.3 16.1 69.7
Total 39 134 1662 11 78 3.4 12.4 42.6
Stats aren't going to wow you for sure and you'll hear "injury concerns" when he is discussed. He suffered a Jones fracture (early Julio Jones years if you remember) which required surgery. Like Julio, he reinjured this the next year and had to have surgery again. Finally, he fractured his collarbone as well. These kinds of injuries aren't a chronic thing, such hamstrings (specifically for WRs) or other soft tissue problems. Largely, this just meant we didn't get to SEE him.
Had a sophomore breakout with Davis Mills at the helm. Between injuries, Stanford sucking, and Tanner McKee being bad... there isn't much to see of late.
He popped on my radar with him destroying DBs at the Senior Bowl. He could have received MVP honors if his QB (Haener) didn't get it.
Jim Nagy, executive director for the Senior Bowl, who rang the bell for McLaurin when he had him there, says Micheal Wilson is the top sleeper at ANY position and will be the draft's biggest steal. Here is his Twitter thread on why he feels that way about Wilson, which includes references to Adams:Wilson was one of the best stories from Senior Bowl week. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound receiver turned heads due to his understanding of how to win at the position. He was consistently getting early separation on his releases off the line of scrimmage. And in his route stem and at his breaks, he was once again enhancing the throwing window… He went from a relative unknown (in the media’s eyes) to a Day 2 pick.
https://twitter.com/JimNagy_SB/status/1 ... 8786432006
Chris Simms, if it matters to you, has him as the #4 WR in this draft:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNkEvLm ... l=NFLonNBC
Combine:
6'2 213 pounds
40 - 4.58 10 yard - 1.5
Vert - 37.5" Long - 10'5"
3 cone (Pro Day) - 6.81
PAC 12 All Academic every year.
GF is Portland Thorns Sophia Smith NWSL MVP
Why should you care about any of this for someone who missed lots of time in college?
It seems that the momentum he had during/after the Senior Bowl got slowed a little after he didn't run a fast 40. We have seen that blazing 40s aren't the key to WRs succeeding, but separation is. His release packages and understanding his body in space are elite. That isn't hyperbole - see the Nagy tweet thread.
Injuries? Referenced above, but the key here is that they were 1 offs and not recurring soft tissue issues.
Cost? The upside potential here is absolutely worth the cost. In my devy league I traded Hardman for the pick used to draft him. Others have gotten him in the 3rd/4th of their drafts.
The Cardinals are going to be trash, though! Yeah, it's very possible they will be a raging dumpster fire. Kyler will be out and the other options are Colt McCoy and rookie Clayton Tune. It would be best for him, for Tune to win the job in camp IMO.
There are other reasons to be positive here. If they are bad, they may wind up with 1.1 next year. They also have the Texans pick if needed to be able to move up for a QB, should their own pick not be where they want it. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Quinn Ewers are possible new QBs in Arizona if they want to move on from Kyler.
The final thing, is look at the Cardinals WRs depth chart. The tallest starting WR outside of Wilson (should he start) is Hollywood at 5'9. The heaviest starting WR outside of Wilson is Rondale Moore. Hopkins is now gone. There was a regime change in Arizona. They did not trade for Brown nor draft Moore. They drafted Wilson and he is the best thing they have as an X.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NvAlaK ... Highlights
His draft day story and him with his trainer TJ Houshmandzadeh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Ox4Vl ... TFarmMedia
