Who Should I Start? Michael Wilson or Xavier Restrepo

Thursday, January 29, 3:40 PM

Not many fantasy football managers would have predicted Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson being a top-12 wideout at the start of the 2025 season. Thanks to injuries to quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Wilson took over as the team's WR1 in the second half of the season and finished with career-highs across the board in catches (78), targets (126), receiving yards (1,006), and touchdowns (seven) in 17 games played. In the first nine games of the year, Wilson had only 22 receptions for 231 yards and one score on 38 targets. In the final eight contests, he soared with 56 catches on 88 targets for 775 yards and six touchdowns in a pass-happy Cardinals offense. Backup QB Jacoby Brissett peppered Wilson with targets as much as possible, and he scored in each of the final five games. Despite the impressive breakout, Wilson's 2026 fantasy value will be shaky with a giant question mark at QB and under a completely new coaching staff.

Tuesday, November 25, 10:00 PM

After spending the first 11 weeks of the 2025 season on the Tennessee Titans' practice squad, rookie wide receiver Xavier Restrepo finally made his NFL debut in Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks. The 23-year-old earned six targets from Titans quarterback Cameron Ward and hauled in two receptions for 26 yards. Restrepo's path to game action was aided by injuries to Titans wideouts Calvin Ridley (leg) and Elic Ayomanor (hamstring). Ridley will miss the rest of the season, while Ayomanor could return as soon as Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, if Ayomanor remains sidelined, Restrepo could have another chance to prove himself against Jacksonville. While fantasy managers will need Restrepo to play more than the 19 offensive snaps he played in Week 12, in some ways, it's encouraging that he was able to log six targets despite the limited playing time. Restrepo can't be trusted as a fantasy starter yet, but he could be worth monitoring for deep-league fantasy managers if the wide receiver injuries in Tennessee persist.