The Arizona Cardinals will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12 without their star receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr., once again. However, that will open up another opportunity for receiver Michael Wilson to shine in the No. 1 receiver role.
Last week, Wilson set career-highs across the board with 15 catches for 185 yards, the most in the NFL this season, in his first opportunity as the top guy.
What Does Jonathan Gannon Think Elevates Michael Wilson’s Game?
Wilson has been a fringe No. 2 or No. 3 receiver for the Cardinals since he came into the NFL in 2023. The Stanford receiver has collected over 500 yards in each of his first two years in the league, and he’s on pace to do so, once again, in 2025.
As he gets set for his second straight game as the No. 1 receiver for quarterback Jacoby Brissett, coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t rule out Wilson having another stellar game.
“Maybe this week he will – it’d be cool. It’d be nice. We need it,” Gannon said. “I think it’s very realistic. He can play in different spots. He can get open at first, second, and third levels.
“He’s physical, and he’s got really good ball skills. He uses the tools that he has to make plays for you, so when the ball goes to him, he can make a lot of those plays.”
Wilson has been a reliable 2-4 catch per game receiver throughout his first two years in the NFL, but with the elevated targets last week, he took advantage.
The Cardinals receiver was consistently graded as a C and D receiver throughout this season, but put up a B grade in Week 11, according to PFSN’s WR Impact. It was Wilson’s best grade of the season and ranked No. 15 overall in the NFL.
Gannon went on to describe the instincts Wilson has that allow him to take his game to the next level.
“The other thing, too, that goes under the radar, even sometimes for me, like there’s some instincts involved with getting open and catching the ball,” Gannon said. “What do I say? ‘What do you want a receiver to do? Get open and catch it, right?’ Well, a 12-yard in-cut, or a 12-yard dig cut, on paper here’s the route – but, oh by the way, when we call this, if they rip five, there’s no one in the middle of the defense, and you know they’re in man-to-man – do you want to run that at 12-yards and lean on a guy and snap it off? Sometimes.”
“Other times, you want to run four yards, five yards, snap it off and get the ball – like, get open, right? There are instincts involved in that.”
Gannon, being a defensive-minded head coach, then compared it to coaching a defensive back. “It’s like coaching a (defensive back), like alignment assignment key technique, you get this release, here’s where I want your positioning, here’s what you’re doing,” Gannon said. “You’ve got guys that one time they squeeze an inside release and they get a dig cut, and they knock the ball down. Next time, they don’t squeeze it, they get an outside cut, and it’s like, ‘Why didn’t you squeeze it?’ I just knew he was coming out.
“There’s going to be instincts. You can coach a lot, but there’s certain instincts involved in playing every position that it’s hard to get your players to comprehend what is needed to win the down. Certain players kind of have that feel and those instincts. I think he has really good feel and instincts of playing the position.”
Wilson will get another chance for those instincts to shine on Sunday as Brissett’s No. 1 receiver against the Jaguars.
Throughout the week, Gannon emphasized the importance of getting the ball to your playmakers, and Trey McBride and Wilson are Arizona’s playmakers.