The Arizona Cardinals‘ offense has the potential for an exciting season behind quarterback Kyler Murray, running back James Conner, emerging tight end Trey McBride, and rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
But where does second-year wide receiver Michael Wilson fit into the Cardinals’ plans for 2024, and how will that impact his fantasy outlook for this season?
Michael Wilson’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
Wilson is coming off a decent but unspectacular rookie season in 2023. He was valued enough to be a starter for 12 of the 13 games he played. His production was hardly off the charts, however, as he finished with just 58 targets, 38 receptions, 565 yards and three touchdown receptions.
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Despite his dozen starts, Wilson was targeted more than six times in a game once — Week 4 vs. the San Francisco 49ers. The result was his most productive game of the season: seven catches on seven targets, 76 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He finished with a season-high 26.6 fantasy points.
Although he finished third on the team in receptions among wide receivers, it should be noted that from a fantasy standpoint, he was nearly as productive as the much more heralded Marquise Brown. Wilson finished with an average of 8.8 fantasy points a game, just behind Brown (9.6 fantasy PPG).
In addition, while Wilson had the third-most targets among Cardinals’ wide receivers last season, he was No. 1 among them in catch percentage at 65.5%. The much more hyped Brown had a catch percentage barely above 50% (50.5%).
Is Wilson a Good Fantasy Pick?
Wilson is the No. 67 wide receiver in Pro Football Network’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings as of Aug. 26.
There is no doubt the featured wide receiver on this Cardinals team will be Harrison, the No. 4 overall pick in last spring’s NFL Draft. With last year’s receptions leader McBride also back, it’s fair to question just how many opportunities Wilson will have this season.
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The good news for Wilson is that the running back position is not a big threat to catch passes in this offense. Last season’s leading rusher, James Conner, was targeted just 33 times, finishing with only 27 receptions, also tops among Arizona running backs.
Throw in the fact that Wilson will have Murray for an entire season in 2024, and it’s possible to see enough improvement in production for fantasy managers to consider Wilson.
That said, it still figures to be difficult for Wilson to have the kind of production that would make him an impact in fantasy. At best, he is likely to be the Cardinals’ third receiving option, after Harrison and McBride, and while it may be unfair to put this label on the Cardinals, given that Murray missed half the season, this was still a bottom 10 passing offense in the NFL last season.
On a more explosive offense, Wilson would be someone for fantasy managers to consider with a late-round pick. But until further notice, it might be wise to take a wait-and-see approach with Wilson.