TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals made it a priority this offseason to improve the talent pool defensively with experienced NFL starters and free agents Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols and Sean Murphy-Bunting.
Five games into the regular season, though, none have had a bigger impact on the unit than Mack Wilson Sr.
Going from being used sparingly on defense across the past four seasons between Cleveland and New England, the versatile Wilson now finds himself firmly in a starting role in coordinator Nick Rallis’ defense.
Wilson, who has fit in seamlessly alongside MIKE linebacker Kyzir White, had an opportunity and seized it. Both he and the Cardinals are better for it.
“I just honestly feel like I was in high school playing football, just being me out there.”
Mack Wilson Sr. is getting the chance to truly be himself with the Arizona Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/dkTdUwhjMM
— Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) October 7, 2024
RELATED STORIES
“I just honestly feel like I was in high school playing football,” Wilson said Monday. “Just being me out there and being able to play on the ball, off the ball through all sorts of different things. It’s pretty cool just to have my brothers alongside me out there who believe in me, who look up to me at a different level than I maybe was looked at other places. It’s a different feel and it’s easy to go out there and lay it on the line for these guys.”
“I wouldn’t change nothing, honestly,” he added when asked if Arizona had exceeded his expectations. “We’re sitting at 2-3 and I still feel like we got a hell of a football team. We got a lot of ball ahead of us. We’re going to continue to take it one day at a time. There’s still something brewing in the desert.”
Wilson continues to fill the stat sheet regardless of where the Cardinals line him up. Arizona’s 24-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was no different.
On top of his six tackles in the victory, Wilson flexed his versatility and played a key role in a pair of second-half turnovers that helped catapult Arizona’s comeback.
While his third-quarter interception led to an eventual Chad Ryland field goal to trim the 49ers’ lead to 23-13, it was Wilson’s fumble recovery off a Jesse Luketa punchout deep in the red zone that gave the Cardinals one last breath at the upset.
.@AZCardinals force a fumble and recover in the red zone!
📺: #AZvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/rgMam1L5Br— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Quarterback Kyler Murray, running back James Conner and the rest of the offense made the most of the turnover behind a 14-play, 75-yard drive capped off with a game-winning field goal.
You can’t get much more complementary than that!
But for as much as Wilson brings on the field, head coach Jonathan Gannon, who didn’t put any expectations on Wilson the football player when Arizona signed him, has been just as impressed with the veteran off of it.
“We had a vision for him, we knew the character was right, I knew he was tough as nails, he was a competitor and he was smart,” Gannon said. “Looking at his background and where he played in the past, I do think that means something, too. You guys know where he was trained. … Where he’s exceeded my expectations is the person and the leader that he is. You don’t know when you sign somebody what that’s going to look like.
“You do your research but it’s not to say that’s right or wrong when they get here. This guy has totally bought into what we do. He’s exceeding my expectation of what I expect from him as far as being a Cardinal. And that’s been cool to see.”
The other big positive surrounding Wilson is his contract. As one of only a few free agents to ink three-year deals with the Cardinals since general manager Monti Ossenfort came to town, this is no one-year rental.
Now if only we could get some clarity on a potential White extension.