Will Fuller Turns Third-Down Screen into First Career Touchdown (Video)
Speed kills, and Will Fuller has speed in spades. The Houston Texans rookie wide receiver introduced his game-breaking acceleration to the Chicago Bears defense to give his team the lead.
In college, Will Fuller was the most feared deep threat in the nation, but what went under-appreciated was his toughness on screen passes. It makes sense that a player with his speed would be utilized on dump-offs that get him into open space, but Notre Dame could have done a better job of scheming for him on screens.
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Houston Texans genius head coach Bill O’Brien, though, has no such problem, and it also helps that defenses must focus on the threats of Lamar Miller and DeAndre “Nuk” Hopkins.
On third-and-seven, O’Brien and the Texans dialed up a screen to the left for Fuller, and he churned out an 18-yard touchdown from that dump-off play.
The TD is the first of Fuller’s career, and there should be plenty more to come after he got the monkey off his back in Week 1 against a soft Bears pass defense. Fuller leads the Texans in receiving yards with 72, accruing them on four receptions and eight targets. Illustrious teammate Hopkins has five catches for 54 yards on seven targets with a touchdown on his own.
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Sporting a 20-14 lead against the Bears and a red-hot Alshon Jeffery, the Texans are off to a solid start in the Brock Osweiler era. The high-paid free agent QB has completed 20-for-30 passes, though he hasn’t had to make many complicated throws, as you can see by this screen-turned-TD from the rookie Fuller, who is doing his best to make good on being the 21st overall pick.