The Miami Dolphins 2018 season was a disappointment — to say the least.

But unlike what we’ve grown accustomed to in year’s past, it wasn’t all doom and gloom in 2018. In fact, several players emerged as potential franchise-caliber players. Laremy Tunsil took the next step, Xavien Howard did too. Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker — former Buckeyes teammates — both showed some potential to be key contributors on defense for many years to come.

And then there’s the skill position players.

Kenyan Drake got out-touched by Frank Gore, and guys like DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki struggled to make any type of impact. However, one player emerged as legit playmaker, one who could have a significant role heading into the 2019 season.

His name is Albert Wilson.

Albert Wilson was potentially on his way to big things before injury in 2018. But were they artificially inflated by big plays? What can we learn from target percentage for fantasy purposes in the AFC? https://t.co/zaPxmZRkAW pic.twitter.com/V63ib2Yv4z — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) April 9, 2019

Obviously, EVERYONE listened to the latest episode of Fantasy on 5 where I mentioned Wilson as a player I see having a significant impact in 2019.

Personally, I think a lot of people are going to overlook Albert Wilson. That is a guy that just, he lit the world on fire when he got the opportunities. And we know he didn’t get as many opportunities as he could have. But the guy can make plays as a running back, can make plays as a wide receiver. He (Wilson) can make plays all over the field that we haven’t seen in Miami for- I mean maybe Jarvis Landry, but this is a supped up Jarvis Landry. For me, hands down as long as he comes back from injury, Albert Wilson is that guy. I think he’s going to be one of those guys that creeps up as a top-15 fantasy wide receiver. If you’re going to make me throw a hot take out there, I’m going to say Albert Wilson is going to be a top-15 fantasy wide receiver this year.

Prior to his injury in Week 7 vs the Detroit Lions, Albert Wilson led the NFL in ‘fantasy points per route’.

Fantasy Points Per Pass Route (2018) 1. Albert Wilson: 0.78

2. Nuk Hopkins: 0.69

3. Tyreek Hill: 0.66

4. Michael Thomas: 0.65

5. Julio Jones: 0.64

6. Keenan Allen: 0.61

7. Tyler Lockett: 0.61

8. Cooper Kupp: 0.6

9. Davante Adams: 0.6

10. W. Fuller: 0.59

Source: @rotounderworld pic.twitter.com/5FTses7ZCD — Moody (@EricNMoody) April 10, 2019

To some, this may be an insignificant statistic.

To others, it provides a pretty good outlier of what type of impact Wilson had in year one in South Florida.

Last offseason, Wilson signed a 3 year, $24-million contract and at the time, very few understood the type of impact he could have. He is good. Very good. And he will look to take the next step in 2019.

During the 2018 season, Wilson recorded 26 receptions on only 35 targets. The end result? 394 yards and 5 touchdowns (1 passing).

Albert Wilson’s rankings out of 114 qualifying WRs over the 2017 and 2018 seasons (@PFF raw data): Yards Per Target: #8

Yards Per Route: #20

YAC Per Catch: #2

Missed Tackles per Catch: #2

Touchdowns Per Target: #21

Fantasy Points Per Target: #7

Fantasy Points Per Route: #18 — Chris Kouffman (@ckparrot) September 24, 2018

Currently, Wilson is being drafted 195th-overall in standard leagues according to FantasyPros.com

Let’s take a look at what Wilson did in 2018 and what we can expect from him in Chad O’Shea’s New England Style offense.

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There are a lot of things that Wilson brings to the table. And anyone that is familiar with New England’s offense, understands just how deadly the quick slants and crossing routes can be.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, he is a special talent.

Here’s a prime example of that, as Wilson throw a perfect 52-yard touchdown strike to Jakeem Grant in week 3 vs Oakland.

the safety has a 0.0000001% chance of making this tackle. pic.twitter.com/fQlV0Nkz4e — josh houtz (@houtz) May 9, 2019

Despite what the stat sheet may say, Ryan Tannehill had nothing to do with the success of this play.

In this play, you see just how explosive Wilson can be with the football in his hands. He uses every bit of his 4.43 forty to outrun the defense. *high five*

momma, there goes that man🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Mb7cbghDii — josh houtz (@houtz) May 9, 2019

At 5’9, 201-pounds, you don’t expect Wilson to be able to shake would-be tackles. And yet, here we are.

Osweiler does a good job of standing tall in the pocket and delivers a pass in stride to Wilson.

good throw from osweiler (never thought I’d say that again) and the rest is all wilson. his ability to make players miss in the open field is a thing of beauty. pic.twitter.com/3WNryRjdud — josh houtz (@houtz) May 9, 2019

Again, Wilson is one of the most explosive playmakers in the NFL.

For years, the Dolphins would try to get the ball in their receivers hands using screens and other variables.

It has been a long time since Miami had a guy with this type of game-altering potential.

that move wilson put on the DB was dirty af 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/IHNJwHERn7 — josh houtz (@houtz) May 9, 2019

In conclusion, Wilson has all the skills to be a dominant wide receiver in the NFL. Obviously, he must fully recover from the hip injury that he suffered last season. And surely, he must build a repertoire with new Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen, before he can have the type of impact we all expect. But what many in South Florida will soon find out, is that Wilson has the potential to be one of the league’s top receivers in 2019.

#WilsonGangGang

albert wilson was having the best season of his NFL career, before suffering a hip injury that ended his 2018 campaign. over 7 games, wilson caught 26/35 targets for 391 yards and 4 TDs. he also completed a 52-yard touchdown pass to jakeem grant. 🔥big #fantasy year incoming🔥 pic.twitter.com/8WfhIvJPtz — Fantasy On 5 Podcast (@fantasyon5) April 5, 2019

Josh Houtz (@Houtz) cooks in his spare time, when he’s not working on 65 things for Five Reasons Sports Network and Dolphin Maven