The Arizona Cardinals brought in Mike LaFleur on a five-year deal to be their next coach. Having spent the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, fans are eager to see what LaFleur learned from valuable time spent under Sean McVay. Particularly, how much of the Rams' offensive system he will bring with him down to the desert.
LaFleur has previously stated that Marvin Harrison Jr. will be in the Davante Adams role, while Michael Wilson will be more of their Puka Nacua. Those are some clown-sized shoes to fill for Wilson, considering Nacua finished second in the league in receiving yards with 1,715 and likely would've passed Jaxon Smith-Njigba had he played all 17 games.
There's a rare formula you have to follow to reach that number, as Nacua ranked fourth in the league in targets (166) yet also was first on the Rams in yards per target (10.3). Wilson isn't quite on the same pecking order for Arizona's offense, but the point remains: he's set to benefit from LaFleur's arrival.
Michael Wilson is the winner of the Mike LaFleur era
Wilson had the classic third-year receiver breakout, finishing with a career-high 1,006 yards, seven touchdowns, and 78 receptions. He's in a prime position to build off that under LaFleur, who should be able to get the most out of the Cardinals' increasingly strong group of skill players.
Of course, that could ultimately depend on the status of Jacoby Brissett, who continues his contract holdout as he looks to get paid on a level more reflective of being the team's projected starter. Brissett and Wilson developed great chemistry last season, and any changes to the signal-caller would inevitably lead to varying levels of production for the pass catchers.
But McVay has always done a great job of having an innovative variation of the West Coast offense, and LaFleur should implement similarly creative ways to get his receivers involved regardless of who's getting them the ball.
Arizona ranked 22nd in points per game last season (20.9) and should be closer to the middle of the pack this year with LaFleur's arrival. Coming from the McVay coaching tree, he should be able to find ways to give the entire offense a boost, but we're excited to see how he finds creative ways to utilize Wilson in particular. While nobody is Puka Nacua, the formations and motions are at least replicable.
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