The Arizona Cardinals suffered a blowout loss at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, dropping even further into last place in the NFC West. Superstar receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. missed the contest, as he just underwent surgery on his appendix, while Zay Jones was also out with a torn Achilles. In Harrison’s absence, quarterback Jacoby Brissett uncorked 57 passes – completing 47 of them. Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch made the most of the extra looks, with each wideout posting breakout performances in fantasy football.
Wilson is owned in 15.3% of ESPN leagues, but just 47% of Yahoo leagues. As for Dortch, he boasts a 3.5% roster percentage on ESPN and a 3% roster percentage on Yahoo. Is it worth adding one of them for the home stretch of the fantasy football season – and if so, which one?
Michael Wilson Fantasy Value
Michael Wilson is currently WR76 in fantasy, averaging 8.5 PPR fantasy points per game this season. Despite his Week 2 touchdown against the Panthers, Wilson logged just three catches through the first three games of 2025. Through Week 5, Wilson had yet to top 16 receiving yards in a single contest.
Wilson became a more efficient receiver in Week 6, when he converted five targets into four catches and 44 yards. Between Week 6 and Week 10, Wilson averaged 8.0 PPR fantasy points per game – a notable step up from his 4.0 average to that point. The 25-year-old Stanford product took another massive leap forward in Week 11, when he drew 18 targets. Wilson caught 15 of them and racked up 185 receiving yards. Without even breaking into the end zone, Wilson still posted 33.5 PPR fantasy points, making him WR1 across the NFL.
On the whole this season, Wilson has reeled in 37 of 56 targets for 416 yards and a touchdown. He leads the Cardinals in catches and routes run, ranking second on the team in yards per route run, target share and targets per route run. Wilson’s 66.07% catch percentage and 10.96-yard average depth of target aren’t anything to write home about, but his usage has been steady enough to overpower those underlying metrics. And with Harrison sidelined, Wilson is Arizona’s unchallenged WR1, trailing only tight end Trey McBride as an option in the passing game. Wilson is more productive after the catch and has more dependable hands than Harrison, so it makes sense than Brissett trusts the third-year pass-catcher so much.
Greg Dortch Fantasy Value
Dortch is currently WR92 in fantasy, averaging 5.5 PPR fantasy points per game this season. He has done most of his damage as a pass-catcher, accumulating 139 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, but he has also gone for 20 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Dortch is also the Cardinals’ primary punt and kick returner. He is averaging 13.8 yards per punt return and 26.2 yards per kick return, failing to break into the end zone on each of his 38 special teams touches.
To start the year, Dortch put up 0.8, 2.1 and 2.8 PPR fantasy points. He posted 7.9 in Week 4 and 9.9 in Week 6, only to dip back to 2.5 and 0.9 on both ends of Arizona’s Week 8 bye. Then, he caught all six of his targets on Sunday. He finished the afternoon with 66 yards and a touchdown, bringing him up to 18.6 PPR fantasy points.
Dortch isn’t much of a deep threat, carrying an average depth of target of 0.55 yards. Of his 139 receiving yards, 125 have come after the catch, so he has had to create almost exclusively with his legs. His 6.11% target share is now up near where Zay Jones’ was, so perhaps the Cardinals are going to use him in the passing game more often with Jones out. His 95.45% catch percentage is also amazing, albeit a product of his constant screen and gadget usage.
Which Cardinals WR should you buy ahead of Week 12?
Arizona is not going to air it out nearly 60 times every week, so Michael Wilson’s 18 targets and 15 receptions do not feel particularly replicable. At the same time, Brissett seems to have a relatively strong grip on the starting QB job, even with Kyler Murray due back from the injured reserve in Week 14. Brissett is clearly comfortable throwing to Wilson, who is drawing less attention from opposing defenses than McBride.
As for Dortch, his six targets look a lot less impressive when they are framed as a 10.5% target share. Sunday marked just his second time this season with more than three targets. The 5-foot-7 wideout has now scored three touchdowns on the season but broken double-digit fantasy points just once. He averages 11.6 PPR fantasy points when he crosses the goal line and 2.9 when he does not. Dortch is a feast-or-famine streamer, and the feast isn’t all that attractive anyways.
If Wilson is available on waivers – he probably will be in ESPN leagues, while Yahoo leagues will be a bit more of a coin flip – claim him immediately. At worst, he has proved to be a high-floor FLEX option over the past month-plus. If he can fill a similar role he did this past weekend moving forward and maybe find the end zone, then Wilson could be a clutch late-season addition. Harrison missing extended time would only raise Wilson’s ceiling, too. Dortch, on the other hand, probably isn’t worth a waiver claim unless you are in an extremely deep league with extended benches and considerable injury issues. If you are lower in the waiver order and know you won’t get Wilson, Dortch would only be worth a flier if Harrison is out again.
