The lowdown on new Dolphins wide receiver Fuller
Here’s one thing the Dolphins and Hurricanes have in common: They both now have 12 wide receivers under contract (or on scholarship, in UM’s case).
Ten tidbits on Will Fuller,
the Dolphins’ new jewel of their receiver room and the team’s marquee free agent signing:
How good is Fuller? ● He’s the only NFL receiver with at least 20 touchdowns while being targeted less than 250 times over the past four seasons. Fuller has 22 TDs on 241 targets.
Pro Football Focus rated Fuller the 11th best player in all of free agency this year:
“Will Fuller has the all-important speed you can’t teach, which will always elevate him beyond where his production would otherwise rank him. He showed in DeAndre Hopkins’ absence that he could step up as a No. 1 receiver in 2020.
For a player who struggled badly with drops in college, Fuller has largely kept those under control at the NFL level, with just 19 total in his [fiveyear] career. It’s a very strong deal for Miami — coming in lower per year than what the Patriots paid Nelson Agholor ,a lesser deep threat.”
Though Fuller signed a oneyear
● deal that could be worth $13.6 million (with $3 million of that in incentives), the Dolphins could have Fuller for two years and $27 million if they apply the franchise tag on him next
March.
Fuller historically has been
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far better than the Dolphins’ incumbent receivers in two areas that were shortcomings for Miami: separation from cornerbacks and yards after the catch, a stat where Miami ranked 30th last season.
Fuller has averaged an excellent 5.9 yards in yards after catch in his career, a byproduct of escaping from corners on a bunch of vertical throws. That compares with 2.7 last season for DeVante Parker, 2.5 for Preston Williams and 4.2 for
Lynn Bowden.
Last season, Fuller
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averaged 3.0 yards of separation from cornerbacks, which was 63rd among NFL receivers but far better than the Dolphins’ top playmakers.
Parker’s 1.7 average yards of separation from the player covering him (on passes thrown to him) was tied with AJ Green for worst among receivers, and
Mike Gesicki’s 2.0 was worst among tight ends.
The result was that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw into tight coverage (where a defender was within 1 yard of the receiver at the time of the completion or incompletion) on 20.3 percent of his throws, third most behind Mitch Trubisky and Joe Burrow. Fuller will make Tua’s life easier.
In 11 games last season,
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Fuller produced more yards on deep balls than the entire Dolphins roster did in Tagovailoa’s nine starts. On passes thrown at least 20 yards in the air, Fuller caught 8 of 15 for 314 yards and four touchdowns, with no drops.
Conversely, on throws of 20 yards or more, Tagovailoa completed 10 of 29 for 259 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. But here’s the big caveat: Three of those deep throws from Tagovailoa were dropped. Tua was a better deep thrower than the numbers suggest.
Fuller was well-regarded in
●
Houston. “When he’s played, he’s made huge plays,” former coach Bill O’Brien said.
After he was suspended for the final five games of 2020 and first game of 2021 for a PED violation, Texans quarterback
Deshaun Watson said: “We all love him. It’s one slip-up. … Will’s really good, very confident in himself.”
Fuller’s 16.5 yards per catch
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last season was sixth-highest in the NFL and second-most for any player who caught at least 50 passes, behind only Carolina’s David Moore.
Of Fuller’s 53 receptions last
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season, 38 went for first downs. That 71.7 percent was 11th in the AFC. That was a shade above Parker’s 71.4 (45 for 63).
Unless Sammy Watkins re-signs with Kansas City, the Dolphins will be the only AFC team with two players who finished above 70 percent in that category. Encouraging!
The concern is health. Fuller
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missed 22 regular-season games in his first four NFL seasons and has never made it through an entire season healthy before last season, when he missed five games due to the suspension. He missed two, six, nine and five games in his first four seasons. Among the injuries: broken collarbone, torn ACL, groin surgery and three hamstring issues.
Fuller’s career average of
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14.9 yards per catch is 10th among all active players, a shade below Rob Gronkowski’s 15.0 and better than Tyreek Hill’s 14.6. DeSean Jackson leads active players with a 17.4 career per catch average.
CHATTER
It looks like a battle among
● four players for two spots on UM’s starting offensive line. Zion Nelson (left tackle), Corey Gaynor (center) and Navaughn Donaldson (right guard) appear likely starters. But left guard has been an open competition between Jakai Clark (who allowed no sacks last season) and emerging second-year player Jalen Rivers ,a former four-star prospect who played 30 offensive snaps as a freshman.
And DJ Scaife said this week that he has moved from right guard to right tackle, where he’s competing with incumbent starter Jarrid Williams, who bypassed the NFL to return for a bonus senior season at UM.
If the Heat acquires Toronto
● point guard Kyle Lowry, it isn’t permitted to give the impending free agent a contract extension because of arcane NBA rules. But the sides could come to a wink-wink understanding of his new deal. Lowry, who turns 35 on Thursday, has become the Heat’s top target, and he would be fine with a trade to Miami. Toronto also has made Norman Powell available.
The Heat has declined to
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offer significant assets in a trade for Houston’s Victor Oladipo,
who would love to be in Miami. The Heat would have interest in trading for him only for modest returns. Oladipo’s three-point field goal percentage (32) has plummeted in Houston.
Kendrick Nunn, Avery
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Bradley, Maurice Harkless and Kelly Olynyk are among Heat players who have been made available in trade talks, and Andre Iguodala’s $15 million salary might be needed.
Duncan Robinson — poised to command $12 million to $18 million annually as a restricted free agent this summer — might be needed in a Lowry trade. So might Precious Achiuwa. The Heat will try to sign LaMarcus Aldridge if he’s bought out.
The Marlins and Fox Sports
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Florida — which becomes Bally Sports Florida next week — finalized a new TV deal; all 162 games will be televised.