A positive sign
First-round pick delivers 4 receptions, 19-yard TD as part of breakout night
Brock Osweiler and Will Fuller perfect their timing.
The football was lobbed high into the air Saturday night, a perfect spiral from Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler that found speedy rookie wide receiver Will Fuller accelerating into the end zone for a touchdown on a fade route.
Besides his 19-yard touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone, the first score of his NFL career, Fuller was the featured downfield target for Osweiler. No Texans player was targeted as frequently as Fuller, who was thrown to a game-high eight times. Fuller delivered a strong, productive performance with a game-high four catches for 73 yards.
“It felt great,” Fuller said. “I had a go route, I worked my release, and Brock threw a great ball. The ball hit me right where it was supposed to be. It felt good. I felt like I got into a rhythm.”
When the Texans drafted the former Notre Dame star in the first round this spring, they envisioned moments like this one. They wanted to be able to create a viable receiving option to prevent bracket coverage schemes and take pressure off of Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
“Will had a real good night,” Hopkins said. “From his first preseason game to now, he made sure he got into the film room and saw some things he can work on, and it showed.” ‘One of our hardest workers’
Although it was a relatively meaningless preseason game, Fuller displayed the athleticism and talent that convinced the Texans to draft him with the 21st overall pick.
“Will is one of the quieter guys in the locker room, but he’s one of our hardest workers,” Osweiler said. “He takes a ton of notes. He wants to be great and is always striving to be great.”
Fuller ran a sharp route over the middle for a 25-yard completion on a pass from backup quarterback Tom Savage for the longest reception of the game.
“I had an in route, and Tom put the ball right on me,” Fuller said. “I just caught it and tried to make something happen.”
The low point for Fuller and the Texans’ offense was when Osweiler short-armed a throw on a similar fade attempt on the other side of the field in the second quarter. Fuller had no chance to makeaplay on the football as it was intercepted by Saints cornerback P.J. Williams.
In his first preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers a week ago, Fuller caught the lone pass thrown to him for a short gain. Osweiler failed to make it to his progression when Fuller was wide open on fourth down, and he threw incomplete to Braxton Miller.
This time, the passing tandem connected. Confidence growing
Signed to a four-year, $10.164 million contract, Fuller is gaining confidence.
Although relatively slender and listed at 6-1, 172 pounds on the Texans’ roster, Fuller is one of the defending AFC South champions’ most athletic players. He’s honing his pass patterns and getting himself accustomed to press coverage.
Fuller has maintained an even-keel personality and approach throughout this process
“I’m not stressed, I’m not worried about it,” Fuller said. “The coaches put me in the best situations to show my skill set, so I just come out here and do my job.”
Although Fuller is arguably the fastest player on the roster with a 4.28 time in the 40-yard dash, he has to grapple with older, stronger cornerbacks to create separation into the secondary.
Drafted with the 21st overall pick after the Texans traded up one spot to ensure they would land him, Fuller caught 62 passes for 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns last season as a junior before declaring early for the draft.
“He’s fast, he’s playing well,” Texans middle linebacker Brian Cushing said. “He’s making some plays. As a first-rounder, you need to come in and play right away and do a lot of good things. The team is expecting a lot out of him. Let’s see what he can do.”
The interception bothered Fuller, though, even though it didn’t look like he was culpable for the turnover.
“Definitely, a lot of areas I can get better at,” Fuller said. “I got to get myheadaround quicker on that one. I’ll get back to work.”