FROM INDY TO HOUSTON
Receiver ready to form tandem with Hopkins
Will Fuller’s path to becoming the Texans’ top pick started coming together at the combine in Indianapolis, when he ran a dazzling 40 and had an encouraging talk with the team.
Will Fuller routinely embarrassed defensive backs during his star turn at Notre Dame, dashing past them with his rare acceleration and leaping over them for a series of touchdowns.
It was the kind of speed and athleticism the Texans have long coveted for their receiving corps, seeking a true deep threat to complement Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins’ multidimensional game.
And the Texans took no chances of potentially losing out on Fuller, landing the Philadelphia native with the 21st overall pick of the first round Thursday night after trading up to get him by sending their 2017 sixth-round pick to Washington to move up one spot from the 22nd selection.
The Texans were searching for something unique by picking Fuller and drafted him seven spots after Baylor speedster Corey Coleman went to the Cleveland Browns as the first wide receiver selected.
“I’m just different,” Fuller said in a conference call from his home in Philadelphia. “I don’t compare myself to anyone else. I feel like I’m the best.
“I love the game of football. Football is the only thing I’m going to do until I’m done. There aren’t going to be no off-field issues. I’m going to be locked in and I’m going to be the best receiver in this draft class, I believe.”
Fastest at position
At 6-foot, 186 pounds, Fuller was the fastest wide receiver at the NFL scouting combine in February with a 4.32 time in the 40yard dash.
It was at the combine in Indianapolis that Fuller first got an inkling that he might ultimately wind up with the Texans. He didn’t visit or do a private workout for the AFC South champions, but he felt good about his conversations with their coaching staff.
“I felt good about it because I knew they needed a wide receiver that could open the field up, and I feel like I fit that mode perfect,” Fuller said. “Everything went well at the combine, and I think they fell in love with me there. Definitely being a deep threat, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind and getting the DBs off of me and opening things up for other teammates.”
The scouting combine wasn’t the first time that Fuller had talked with Texans coach Bill O’Brien. O’Brien originally got Fuller to make a verbal commitment to Penn State before the former Roman Catholic star changed his mind and accepted a scholarship offer from Notre Dame.
“Coach O’Brien, he already had coached us and his knowledge of the football game and what he did with the Patriots a couple years before, just his knowledge of the offense and how he could have put me in the best position to be the best,” Fuller said. “I feel bad that things didn’t hit because I feel like we would have had something special at Penn State.”
Fuller declared early for the draft following his junior season after catching 144 career receptions for 2,512 yards and 30 touchdowns. He caught 62 passes for 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns last season one year after catching 76 passes for 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore.
‘Very confident’
By drafting Fuller, the Texans hope they’ve formed a dangerous tandem with him and Hopkins. Hopkins is coming off a breakthrough season with 111 catches for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
“I’m super excited to play with DeAndre Hopkins,” Fuller said. “I had a teammate on Notre Dame who was from South Carolina, so that’s all we talked about was DeAndre Hopkins. I’m very aware of how good he is, and I can’t wait to play on the same team as him.”
Fuller adeptly sells double-moves, gaining separation with his speed and selling convincing jab steps and head fakes to get cornerbacks to bite.
The knock on Fuller is his tendency to allow passes to get to his body with an estimated nine dropped passes in each of the past two seasons. Fuller is keenly aware of his reputation for concentration drops and has been devoting time to becoming more consistent.
“I’m very confident,” Fuller said. “I got over 140 catches in my career. I’m a football player, that’s what I tell people. It doesn’t matter if I catch the ball with my body or my hands. A catch is a catch. I’m going to work at it my hardest and make everything more fluent.”