PFF Data Shows Marco Wilson is 'Lockdown' Cornerback
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Marco Wilson has played 74% of all defensive snaps this season, missing two games due to injury. Only Isaiah Simmons, Budda Baker, Zaven Collins and Jalen Thompson have played more for the Cardinals this season.
Wilson, just 23-years-old, was Arizona's fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and is just one game away from completing his second season in the league.
There's been times where Wilson has looked like the inexperienced coverage corner you would expect out of a young player in the league. After all, even the best in the business have a hard time at what is one of football's toughest positions.
Yet there's been other times where Wilson flashed the potential that the Cardinals saw when drafting him. His interception return for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football might have just been his introduction to the rest of the league.
Two interceptions against Tom Brady on Christmas Day might have sealed an obvious step up in improvement from Wilson. With just one game remaining, Wilson has 58 tackles, ten passes defensed (team leader), three interceptions (team leader) and one forced fumble on the year.
After Wilson earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after the Saints game, head coach Kliff Kingsbury said: "He's worked really hard since training camp to continue to get better. Just his presence on the field, how calm he looked out there Thursday night, his demeanor, the situational awareness has really improved, and that was a big time play he made.
"It's fun to see a guy like that gradually get better and earn some recognition from outside this building."
The praise continues for Wilson, who landed in the "lockdown" section of a Pro Football Focus data chart compiled by Pranav Rajaram:
The chart's X axis measures receiving yards allowed per target, while the Y axis accounts for forced incompletion rate.
Wilson, spotted in the top left quadrant, is in similar area of guys such as Stephon Gilmore, Carlton Davis and Charvarius Ward.
Fellow Cardinals defensive player Isaiah Simmons also lands on the list, right in the middle of the "solid" and "liability" quadrants. He's in the ballpark of guys such as Darius Slay and Marlon Humphrey, which is an impressive feat considering Simmons isn't even a cornerback.
Data doesn't tell the whole story, but Wilson sure has had himself a stellar season.
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