The Arizona Cardinals are now 1-2 after falling 36-30 to their divisional rival, the San Francisco 49ers, on the road in Week 3.
Entering the contest as heavy 8.5-point underdogs on DraftKings Sportsbook, the Cardinals covered the spread, as we predicted in the matchup preview.
That was largely thanks to an offense that exploited an injured 49ers defense. Head coach Mike LaFleur finally fed rookie running back Jeremiyah Love 21 carries for 90 yards rushing and a receiving touchdown.
But the receiving corps largely kept the Cardinals in this shootout, as they have several playmakers beyond Love. Tight end Trey McBride is understandably the headliner, but an overlooked piece of this pass-catching group is wide reciever Michael Wilson.
Cardinals' Michael Wilson extension looks better each week
The Stanford product was the Cardinals No. 94 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He's quietly proven to be a reliable pass-catching option, not only returning value on that draft selection but also reaching a lucrative three-year, $75 million contract extension on September 3.
Wilson reached 1,000 yards receiving last season, though question marks surrounded where he fit with a fully healthy receiving group that now includes Harrison and offseason signing Kendrick Bourne. Week 3 showed that the connection Brissett and Wilson had from last season has carried over. Arizona's newly extended wide receiver finished with 11 receptions on 17 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown.
The Cardinals' offense now has two elite playmakers emerging between McBride and Love, though they still lack a true WR1 with Marvin Harrison Jr.'s early struggles. Wilson has done an underrated job keeping this offense afloat in the meantime, making it fair to wonder whether this is a short-term solution or if he's truly emerged as the WR1 over Harrison.
Regardless of what Wilson's role looks like going forward, his Week 3 performance shows Arizona was right to extend him. Brissett may be nothing more than a stopgap solution at quarterback, but the connection he's developed with Wilson early on is telling about his IQ and ability to create separation.
Harrison hasn't quite reached draft expectations, to put it gently, and though the Cardinals offense has filled the void with McBride and now Love, it would be nice to have a more reliable WR1 emerge. Wilson may not look the part, but he's already proven far more effective than Harrison at the NFL level, surprisingly emerging as the Cardinals' WR1 until proven otherwise.
Add us as a preferred source on Google