Who is Albert Wilson?

Jaron Foster

wilson

As we approach the final fantasy-relevant games of the season, even those in championships are keeping an eye on the back ends of their roster for adds off the waiver wire. To this end, this week’s featured player has been one of the most added in my leagues over the last couple weeks. Kansas City rookie wide receiver Albert Wilson has begun to pick up steam as the season winds down, so we will take a look at what he has to offer for fantasy owners in 2015.

At 5’9” and over 200 pounds, Wilson is a solidly built receiver who has drawn comparisons to the likes of former first round pick Kendall Wright and even Maurice Jones-Drew (though Wilson is a couple inches taller and 10-15 pounds lighter than the running back). He also compares himself to the Ravens’ Steve Smith. The former ultra-versatile prospect from Florida chose Georgia State University (GSU) after totaling over 2,600 all-purpose yards at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and on special teams as a high school senior.

Production at multiple positions continued at the collegiate level as Wilson led GSU in all-purpose yards as a freshman in 2010, playing wide receiver and as a kickoff returner. He became a more prominent factor in the passing game the following season, leading GSU with 37 receptions for 772 yards (nearly 21 yards per catch) and six touchdowns in nine games. He also set records with the two longest receptions in school history, an average of 35 yards per catch in one game and 229 all-purpose yards in another.

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The accolades continued pouring in as a junior with several honors for his play on special teams and wide receiver. He again led GSU with 48 receptions for 947 yards and seven touchdowns while he led the conference in all-purpose yards. Wilson ended his collegiate career with a bang in 2013 with 71 receptions for 1,177 yards and eight touchdowns as part of his 2,283 all-purpose yards. He must have had to buy a couple more trophy cases for the season he had. The All-American finished his career as GSU’s record-holder with 6,235 all-purpose yards, ranking in the NCAA’s top 30 totals all-time, 175 receptions for 3,190 yards and 26 touchdowns. In summary, he is pretty good.

Appropriately, Wilson became the first player from GSU to be invited to the NFL Combine. He didn’t disappoint as he ran a 4.43 40-yard dash, tied for seventh with Sammy Watkins and Odell Beckham, Jr., and posted both a 37.5” vertical jump and a 10’3” broad jump to match 6’3” metrics darling Jeff Janis.

Unfortunately for Wilson, elite collegiate statistics and strong measurable at the Combine did not translate to a selection in the 2014 NFL Draft. He had been projected by many to be a seventh round selection or priority free agent and the latter came to fruition as Kansas City signed him shortly after the draft.

Wilson has a nice combination of athleticism, speed and strength that makes him a versatile asset on the field. His solid build helps to ease concerns about taking a pounding in the slot, especially since he shows strong elusiveness and often makes the first tackler miss. Good speed and an ability to track the ball well make him a candidate to line up on the outside as well as the slot. He also has a high football IQ which has allowed him to succeed in so many areas of the game.

The tangible downside to Wilson’s game includes inconsistency in his route running and questionable hands. Whether these issues limit his ability to translate all aspects of his game to the NFL remains to be seen, but these are areas of concern for a player without a single natural position if he can’t clean up his game and hold onto the ball. Though he was generally regarded well as a leader and team captain at GSU, he also has a reputation for being arrogant and may have some maturity issues. For his sake, hopefully Dwayne Bowe is not a bad influence as Wilson learns how to carry himself in the NFL.

With no receiving touchdowns through 15 games, it has been a difficult season for Kansas City wide receivers. Bowe leads the group with 51 receptions for 667 yards – five receptions and 80 yards shy of team leader Travis Kelce, and no other wideout has more than 15 receptions. The wide receivers listed ahead of Wilson on the Chiefs’ depth chart (Frankie Hammond, Junior Hemingway and Jason Avant) have combined for only 24 receptions this season and all three become free agents in the off-season.

In addition to Wilson, the only Chiefs’ wide receivers under contract beyond this season are Bowe, who signed a five-year, $56 million deal that is good through 2017, and Donnie Avery. While Bowe is the now-uninspiring WR1 in Kansas City, Avery represents a $4.05 million cap hit which is a 40% increase from 2014. Given his lack of production and ever-present injury concerns, he’s a candidate to be cut in training camp.

The bleak outlook for the current group of wide receivers will certainly be to Wilson’s benefit as the team looks at options for Alex Smith to throw to. Though he has seen few snaps relative to many other rookies in this year’s impressive class, Wilson has caught seven passes for 122 yards (15.7 yards per reception) the last two weeks as he started in place of the injured Avery. While he has been used sparingly on kickoffs, the team has been using the versatile player almost exclusively on the offensive side of the ball.

While he has been a popular pickup in dynasty leagues, be sure to add him up if he is still available. Given the combination of metrics, historical production and apparent opportunity, I prefer him as a flier over other recently featured players including Taylor Gabriel, Glenn Winston and Luke Willson. Watch some of the highlight-reel plays he made in college and it’s easy to get excited about him at the end of your bench. 

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jaron foster
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