Stanford wide receiver Michael Wilson was selected with the 94th overall pick in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Friday night and is now set to transition from the Stanford Cardinal to the Arizona Cardinals.
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound standout from Simi Valley, Calif. was named a team captain in 2022 and racked up 1,662 yards and 11 touchdowns over five years with the Cardinal. He had a breakout game early this past season against Washington, collecting a career-high 176 receiving yards and an impressive 78-yard touchdown. In 2021, Wilson received the Al Masters Award, presented to the Stanford athlete “attaining the highest standards of athletic performance, leadership and academic achievement.” The accolade is widely considered the highest honor awarded annually by the Stanford Athletics Board.
Wilson was projected to be a low day-three pick before vaulting his stock with a strong pre-draft performance that left scouts singing his praises, especially after the Reese’s Senior Bowl in February. “Without hard-luck injuries, @StanfordFball WR Michael Wilson would be a slam dunk second-rounder,” wrote Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy in a tweet Wednesday. “Stop sleeping.”
Teased it last night.
Our top sleeper at any position for 2023 #NFLDraft is Stanford’s Michael Wilson.
Term “sleeper” is overused but it applies to Wilson, who we haven’t seen in any Top-10 WR rankings.
Here’s our case for why Wilson will be this year’s biggest steal.
1/9 pic.twitter.com/KhnmkkTwnd
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 26, 2023
Wilson is the first offensive player drafted from the Cardinal into the NFL since the Dallas Cowboys selected wide receiver Simi Fehoko ʼ22 with their fifth-round pick in 2021. He joins tight end Jim Dray ʼ09 and Stepfan Taylor ʼ13 as the only Stanford players to be drafted by the Arizona Cardinals; he also enters an offensive corps led by former Stanford star tight end Zach Ertz ʼ13.
With Arizona’s star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins reportedly on the move, Wilson will have the opportunity to compete for a starting role on an ascending offense.
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