Cardinals provide clarity on Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson roles

During the NFL’s spring practices, gleaning notable information typically requires some squinting.

>Not this time. On Tuesday, June 2 — amid the Arizona Cardinals’ final week of organized team activities — head coach Mike LaFleur revealed the roles for each member of his wide receiver corps.

>Marvin Harrison Jr. will be the X receiver, a position typically isolated farthest from the offensive formation. LaFleur compared that job to the role occupied by Davante Adams with the Rams (where LaFleur was the offensive coordinator) and Julio Jones with the Falcons (where LaFleur was once a young offensive assistant).

>“Just that lengthier body that can play on the outside,” LaFleur said of Harrison.

>Michael Wilson will be the Z receiver, which LaFleur compared to Puka Nacua’s role with the Rams. That receiver plays closer to the offensive formation and has more responsibilities as a blocker in the running game.

>That usage can confuse the picture for opposing defenses on play-action, as they account for the Z receiver as a blocker, only to see him leak into the secondary on a deep route. The Rams consistently found ways to weaponize Nacua on those looks last season. And like Nacua, Wilson is unafraid of getting his hands dirty as a blocker.

>“(Wilson is) a little more compact of a guy,” LaFleur said. “Those guys are a little bit more comfortable playing in the C in the B in the D (gaps) right there where you can insert for safeties.”

>Then, finally, there’s Kendrick Bourne, who figures to be the Cardinals’ third-most-used wide receiver.

>“We're asking Kendrick probably to play closer to the core than we did (with the 49ers) from '17 to '20, but he's capable,” LaFleur said.

>In his career, Bourne has played 33.1% of his snaps in the slot, per Pro Football Focus, topping out at 51.6% in 2019 with the 49ers. Based on LaFleur’s comments, he could now be in line to see more work in the slot than ever before.

>The Cardinals, though, plan to move all of their receivers through different roles.

>“You can move them inside and outside on a whim,” LaFleur said. “Just in terms of our formations, our motions, all that kind of stuff. .. You can utilize your skill sets in different ways. So (Harrison) is our X receiver, but you can move him around so that sometimes he is, sometimes he's not.”

>Last year’s Rams provide a useful window into what that could look like for Harrison and Wilson.

>Adams, as the X receiver, saw 83.9% of his snaps out wide and 16.1% in the slot. Nacua, as the Z receiver, saw 60.4% of his snaps out wide, 36.1% in the slot and 2.3% aligned in line to the formation.

>That distinction became crucial when the Rams increased their usage of three-tight-end looks midseason. In those packages, Adams would often operate as the lone receiver, especially inside the red zone.

>Nacua, though, saw slightly more targets than Adams when on the field. Target share, ultimately, is most dependent on two factors: how well a receiver gets open and where he is in the quarterback’s progression.

>For Harrison and Wilson, those answers will become clearer during training camp.

>A year ago, Wilson had the clear upper hand on efficiency. After the Cardinals moved on from Kyler Murray in Week 6, Wilson averaged 2.04 yards per route run to Harrison’s 1.53, per PFF.

>On a personal level, though, Harrison said his primary focus this offseason has simply been on staying healthy. Last season, he played just 49.9% of the Cardinals’ offensive snaps as he dealt with a concussion, appendicitis and a heel/foot injury.

>“I feel like if I'm out there, everything else is gonna take care of itself,” Harrison said. “So just doing the best I can to make sure my body's right week in and week out.”

>This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals reveal Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson roles