Fantasy football outlook: Arizona Cardinals WR preview

The Arizona Cardinals‘ wide receivers room has been a turnstile in recent years. Last year’s top two wide receivers both left – Marquise Brown (free agency) and Rondale Moore (trade). Entering 2024, the Cardinals have a new No. 1 wide receiver in fourth overall draft pick Marvin Harrison Jr., who is already being anointed as the ”next big thing” in Arizona.

Harrison joins a pair of in-house returnees – Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch. Arizona added a pair of veterans in free agency with low-investment signings of Zay Jones and Zach Pascal. There are some questions how the depth charter will play out for WR2 through WR5, but there’s no question that Harrison is the go-to guy.

Marvin Harrison Jr.

A two-time unanimous All-America at Ohio State, Harrison dominated at the college level like few others in recent history. In 25 games over the last two years, he caught 144 passes for 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has all the appearances of being a can’t-miss prospect on the line of Cardinals great Larry Fitzgerald.

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The Cardinals received lucrative trade offers from other teams looking to get in the quarterback sweepstakes to jump up to the No. 4 pick, but held its ground because of Harrison’s potential as being as big a difference-maker as his Hall of Fame father.

Michael Wilson

As a rookie last year, Wilson made a minor splash, catching 38 passes for 565 yards (a 14.9-yard average) and three touchdowns. He finished third among Cardinals wide receivers (behind Brown and Moore) in receptions and touchdowns and second in receiving yardage. Both Brown and Moore are gone, and Wilson is going to get the first chance to start.

Wilson’s role grew as the season progressed. He was targeted six times in four of the last six games he played. With the new-look to the WR roster, having a year of experience with the coaching staff could pay dividends.

Zay Jones

Jones is a seven-year veteran with previous stops with the Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars. The only consistent about Jones’ career has been his inconsistency. The best season was with Jacksonville in 2022, when he caught 82 passes for 823 yards and five touchdowns, but the rest of his career has been marked by marginal achievement and never having backed up one solid season with another.

Jones is more of a complementary component piece than a true star, but his veteran savvy will fit in with a young receiver group, and he will have a to-be-defined role in the offense as the season progresses. Nothing is guaranteed until he proves himself to his new teammates and coaches.

Greg Dortch and Zach Pascal

Dortch is an undersized slot receiver who had his best season in 2022, catching 52 passes for 467 yards and two touchdowns. His numbers slipped badly last year (24-280-2), but it should be noted that 23 of his 24 receptions came in the final seven games of the season – after Kyler Murray returned as his QB.

Dortch doubles as a return man because of his speed, so that bonus gives him marginal upside as a dual threat to score points, but it’s his familiarity with Murray that is the wild card in Dortch having fantasy value.

Once a promising player in Indianapolis, after a failed 2022 season in Philadelphia (15-150-1 in 14 games), his first season in Arizona resulted in just four receptions (on 15 targets) for 19 yards and no touchdowns in 14 games. Pascal will likely have fight to keep a roster spot against younger, cheaper prospects with higher upside.

Fantasy football outlook

Few teams have experienced the turnover among its receivers as the Cardinals. In the last two years, they’ve parted ways with DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Ertz, Brown and Moore. There are more questions than answers as to how the pecking order will play out behind Harrison.

Harrison is likely to land at the back end of the WR1 fantasy picks in a 12-team league – anyone who gets him as a WR2 will be lighting up a draft night victory cigar. He’s that good.

As for the rest of this crew? The incumbent No. 1 receiver coming in is tight end Trey McBride. In the eight games Murray played when he came back last season, he completed 53 passes to McBride. He became Arizona’s version of Travis Kelce and, when a tight end has been a team’s leading receiver, that has historically been problematic for wide receivers other than the lead dog.

Wilson is worthy of WR5/No. 6 consideration, because he’s clearly the WR2 option in an offense with a dynamic quarterback. Wilson will be taken late enough that he won’t be counted on as a must-start but instead a role player with upside to grow. Dortch is merely a deep best-ball flier because of his history with Murray.

Jones and Pascal don’t have any fantasy value, barring injuries to those in front of them.