Cardinals WR Michael Wilson Earning His Stripes Already
Arizona Cardinals receiver Michael Wilson was the 13th receiver selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
He didn't arrive with a hype train similar to Quentin Johnston, Jaxon Smith-Njigba or any of the other top receivers ahead of him. His five years at Stanford featured just 36 games played due to various injuries - his final three seasons saw him play four, four and six games.
The Cardinals believe they got a steal in Wilson, who was taken with their second of two third-round picks.
At rookie minicamp a few weeks back, Wilson said he was simply trying to earn the respect of his peers:
"I think the biggest thing I'm looking forward to doing and putting the emphasis on is just earning the respect of my teammates and earning the respect of the locker room. I think that's the most important thing, coming in with an open mind just trying to be a sponge to guys who have been successful in the league," Wilson said.
"And so just being really deliberate and intentional with everything I do, and making sure I can leave a good first impression on the guys in the receiver room, the quarterbacks, the running back room and coaching staff just do my best just to earn the respect of everybody in the building and kind of stamp why I deserve to be here."
With OTA's over and mandatory minicamp coming next week before an extended break leading up to training camp, he's done just that.
"Michael has come in as a rookie. And [we outlined] 'Hey man, this is what's expected. And this is what we're expecting from you. Here's your role,' and he's taken to it," said head coach Jonathan Gannon.
"He's doing a really good job, especially for a rookie. I think in any offense it moves a little fast and where we are today, he's light years ahead of when he came in here for rookie minicamp. So that's good to see."
Fellow receiver Marquise Brown says he's familiar with Wilson.
"I like Mike. I actually seen Mike play in high school when I was in JUCO. So seeing him out there, he's explosive. He's smooth. I'm excited to see what he can do," said Brown.
As far as expectations go, Wilson's potential role may have increased thanks to the absence of DeAndre Hopkins. With a new offensive coordinator and different receivers such as Brown, Rondale Moore, Greg Dortch and Zach Pascal in the mix, Wilson will have to earn his stripes.
He's at least caught the eye of safety Jalen Thompson, however.
"Michael Wilson has caught my eye a little bit... I've only been out here for a couple of days now, so not really sure of everybody yet but yeah, Michael Wilson, I think he's looking pretty good," said Thompson, before questioning who it actually was.
"That's 14, correct? Yeah, looking real good. Funny thing about Michael Wilson, I actually just worked out with him I think maybe two days ago and it was just know one-on-one work and I liked that with him. You can tell the young guys are really buying into it."
