No player on the Cardinals' offense is likely to thrive in fantasy football this season through the quality of opportunity over quantity, but enough quantity should allow a select few players to be fantasy relevant in 2023 despite poor overall production. There are the obvious candidates to be volume-based values in drafts (Marquise Brown, James Conner), but rookie WR Michael Wilson has seemingly played his way into that same consideration heading into 2023.
Wilson’s usage so far in the preseason has been indicative of a player that has earned a starting role in the Cardinals' offense. He’s played in 22 of 24 total snaps with the starters across the first two games of the preseason, starting over Rondale Moore. He seems to be filling the role left vacant by DeAndre Hopkins’ departure and could stand to see significant target volume on an offense that figures to be playing from behind for a good portion of the year.
What makes Wilson especially intriguing is his draft price: currently coming off the board on Underdog as the WR86 in the 16th round, he has a chance to be a flex candidate via his projected volume alone. His value could be bolstered by the return of Kyler Murray at any point in the season, as well, making him a very strong, appreciable asset coming off the board quite late in drafts.