The Arizona Cardinals' trading Marvin Harrison Jr. is just further confirmation that Michael Wilson is the true WR1 for this team. It makes their decision to extend Wilson this offseason look even better, considering how important he is for this offense.
The offensive hierarchy was already trending in that direction, particularly under stopgap quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett and Wilson both cashed in on their successful connection from last season. Brissett is now guaranteed $15.5 million this season after the Cardinals reworked his deal. We didn't like that decision at the time and still don't, as he's predictably led Arizona to a losing record through four weeks.
But at least the Cardinals didn't add years to his deal, giving them flexibility to upgrade the most important position next season. The Wilson part of that connection, however, will continue to be a key part of this offense.
Cardinals landed a cheap and underrated WR1 in Michael Wilson
The Cardinals reached a three-year, $75 million contract extension with Wilson, given the market for receivers that was incredibly reasonable value at the time. That's even more so the case after seeing Wilson pick up where he left off from last season's breakout.
Through four games, Wilson has totaled 25 receptions for 258 receiving yards and a touchdown. He's already trending in the right direction, becoming more of a focal point in this offense as of late with 30 targets over the last two games. That should continue to be the case with Harrison now out of the picture.
Even if he wasn't commanding a huge target share, there was always the looming breakout that fans were optimistically (unrealistically?) waiting for. In other words, it's clear that Wilson is the WR1 for this team not only now, but also going forward.
When you look at it from that standpoint, suddenly securing a WR1 for $25 million AAV starts to look like a steal. He may not be the traditional WR1 we're accustomed to seeing around the league. There are even teams like the Cincinnati Bengals where their WR2 Tee Higgins would easily be the best receiver on this Cardinals roster.
Cardinals can now find a better roster balance
However, that's the benefit of the way this Cardinals roster is constructed -- they don't need Wilson to be that guy. He's good enough to where they're well equipped to make up for that in the aggregate between the playmaking of Trey McBride, Jeremiyah Love, and other weapons outside of receiver.
Moving on from Harrison signals a step in the right direction in terms of finding a roster balance. It's good that they essentially admitted this Harrison draft mistake in general by trading him just three seasons into his career. And while we still don't exactly know what the Cardinals are getting in exchange (or where Harrison is headed, for that matter), it's likely headlined by some form of future draft compensation.
That gives the Cardinals an opportunity to find a better roster balance, addressing other areas of need, whether that's quarterback, offensive line, or defense as a whole. The Cardinals have surrendered the fourth most points per game so far this season, which unfortunately shouldn't come as a surprise considering how much attention has been given to the offensive side of the ball throughout this rebuild.
Having Wilson locked up for three more years on a deal that looks increasingly team-friendly is a huge and underrated component to making that shift work.
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