Michael Wilson may have been a first-round pick, but the injury bug struck the Arizona Cardinals rookie receiver year after year while he was in college. Wilson dropped to the third round, and he may have ended up going later had general manager Monti Ossenfort not stepped up and taken him at 94th overall.
Heading into the Cardinals Week 4 loss against the San Francisco 49ers, Wilson had a solid seven receptions on nine targets for 161 yards, with a remarkable 23.0 yards per catch. With 17.9 yards per target, there was an inkling that Wilson was not just a big target, but also a deep threat.
Then came Sunday afternoon in a game that featured a plethora of second and third-string players on the Cardinals defense, meaning someone on the offense had to step up. And that’s exactly what happened today against San Francisco, as Wilson played a huge role.
Arizona Cardinals rookie receiver looks like the real deal in Week 4 loss
This past afternoon, Wilson snagged not one, but two touchdown receptions. He caught all seven of his targets for 76 yards, good for 10.9 yards per catch. Wilson was nothing short of awesome in this contest, and it gives him something huge to build on heading into Week 5 vs. what looks like a weak Cincinnati Bengals team.
Hey, the Cards may have lost today, but last season, they would have given up at halftime. By no means does this imply a moral victory - I covered a few weeks back that they don’t exist. Michael Wilson will also say that he lost today, too, and he should.
But you can’t deny that he might just be the Arizona Cardinals next great receiver. If you do the math, Wilson now has 14 receptions on 16 targets, 237 yards, 16.9 yards per reception, and an 87.5% catch percentage.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference and ESPN.com)