Michigan receiver Roman Wilson is already a big play waiting to happen, and that could happen even more in the NFL.
Last season, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy completed 25 of 46 passes of 20 or more air yards for 706 yards, 10 touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 130.0. Roman Wilson caught 12 of those passes on 18 targets for 311 yards and six touchdowns, so you know where most of the explosive plays came from.
Overall, Wilson caught 48 passes on 67 targets for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns — all career highs through his four seasons with the Wolverines. When he gets to the NFL, Wilson’s next team will have a high-caliber slot weapon who can work the field as few others can in a big-play sense. And if you’re of the opinion that Michigan could have aired it out a lot more than it did last season, perhaps Wilson is due for a statistical rise.
PLUSES
— 16 of his 48 catches last season were explosives; Wilson can scald a defense from anywhere on the field.
— I keep thinking “Future Miami Dolphin,” because he’s so hard to cover and track upfield out of any kind of motion.
— Brings impressive toughness for his size (5′ 10¾”, 185); he has no problem with catching the ball over the middle when he knows he’s going to get smacked.
— Understands how and when to sink into his routes by reading the defender, especially in zone coverage.
— Physical nature of his play extends to his ability to get handsy within the rules to force short-area openings.
— Devilish foot-fakes and burst at the snap allow him to beat press coverage.
— Three outside targets in 2023; he’s going to be a slot guy in the NFL.
— Wilson gets contested catches by getting away from the defender and eliminating the “contested” part; he’s not going to win a lot of 50/50 battles.
— More of a “point of catch” weapon than a true YAC factor; his game is more about getting and staying open.
— Blocking isn’t great, but if you’re debiting him for that, you’re probably looking for a different type of receiver.
Remember how effective Victor Cruz was as a speed slot target for the Giants back in the day? Wilson has a lot of that kind of juice.
He’d be wasted on a lot of heavy TE teams; his best bet is to land with a team that wants to air it out wide with vertical stuff, and will design concepts that allow him to get free in space. Because he’s a monster when that happens.
