By: Michael Higgins

School: Stanford (Senior)

Position: WR

HT: 6’2

WT: 209 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #98

Michael Wilson was a 4-star recruit out of Simi Valley, California and attended Chaminade High School. In high school, Wilson played both basketball and football for Chaminade. He was an All-State receiver as a senior and was a two time All-Section member. Academics were extremely important to Wilson when it came to making a college decision. Wilson was heavily recruited by Washington, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, and even Yale, but ultimately chose to attend to stay in-state at the prestigious Stanford University. Throughout his time at Stanford, Wilson has been hampered quite a bit by varying injuries. He has never really had a fully healthy season to show what he can do. However, he has still been named to PAC 12 All-Honorable Mention twice and is a four-time member of the PAC 12 All-Academic Team. Despite the injuries, Wilson has shown a high level of perseverance through trying circumstances.

Michael Wilson is a balanced receiver, he is physical and uses strength to win one-on-one battles with the defensive backs, who can never match his strength. Wilson can win those contested battles on 50/50 balls when he has to get up and be strong at the catch point. He can look back at the ball, get up in the air, and make a play regardless of what the defender is doing. Wilson has reliable hands and displays good process when making a catch. Wilson stays in stride when tracking down the football and shows the late hands when receiving the ball. On top of his physicality, Wilson can also win with speed and footwork. Wilson is a technician in his routes with an expansive route tree. He has the versatility to play both on the boundary as well as inside as a slot receiver. He truly has a perfect blend of size, athleticism, and strength. Wilson also provides upside as a special teams ace, as well as a punt and kick returner. Wilson has been returning for Stanford for his entire collegiate career and has been extremely productive. In order to see consistent playing time, Wilson will need to be able to be a top performer on special teams. As a run blocker, Wilson is very effective. He uses strength to overpower defensive backs lined up across from him. He displays adequate grip strength to keep defenders from slipping free and running to the ball.

Wilson’s downsides unfortunately remain entirely out of his control for the most part. To start, he is an older prospect. Some players his age have already been in the NFL for 2 seasons. He is getting a late start. The other major area that is out of his control is the injury bug that he has carried around. He has yet to show the ability to consistently stay healthy and misses chunks of games at a time quite frequently. Due to these circumstances, he is an older prospect that is still raw. He has shown room for growth with tremendous developmental upside, it is just about starting to put it together on a consistent basis.

Michael Wilson is a smart player with a great blend of physical attributes. If he remains healthy there is no doubt that he can be a real contributor to an NFL offense as he continues to develop. He should be a key special teams player right away and can carve out a bigger role in the offense as he continues to gain confidence.

Scheme Fit: Shanahan Offense

Ideal Role: Z Receiver

Best Team Fits: ATL, NYG, NE

Player Comparison: Adam Thielen

Player Grade: 72.3