Houston Texans: Where to go from here for wide receiver Will Fuller

Houston Texans Will Fuller came out of the gates firing on all cylinders in 2017. As the season went on his production dwindled though. What’s next?

Offensively, the Houston Texans got a massive boost offensively when Will Fuller returned in Week 4 of last season. The wide receiver was on fire to start the year, picking up at least one touchdown in each of his first four games. The rest of the season failed to see another touchdown from Fuller though.

In fact, the numbers are pretty staggering. In his first four games, Fuller racked up 13 receptions for 279 yards and seven touchdowns. The last six games produced just 15 catches for 144 yards and no touchdowns.

Now, there’s a pretty obvious moment to point to when it comes to the production slip. Something that anyone can bring up and say “this is the reason Fuller’s numbers dropped so significantly.”

Deshaun Watson went down with an injury at the exact time Fuller’s numbers slipped. Literally the last game Watson played was the best game of the year for the receiver (five catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns). The next game started the string of weak performances to end the season.

You could point to DeAndre Hopkins and say he did fine with Tom Savage at quarterback. I have two arguments for that however. First, it’s DeAndre Hopkins, he’s a freak. Second, it’s not uncommon for a backup quarterback to rely heavily on a superstar receiver. Therefore, Hopkins was always getting tons of targets.

So with Watson returning, Fuller’s numbers should see an instant boost.

There are some other ways to improve his game however. At 6-0 180 pounds, Fuller isn’t the biggest target. Due to that, he’s known mostly for things such as fly routes and quick-hitters (screen-passes and such). If he can learn to go across the middle (and most importantly hold onto the football) Fuller’s game can be taken to the next level.

He’s already got fantastic speed and acceleration. Fuller’s also an underrated route-runner and can definitely give cornerbacks fits. With that in mind, there’s no reason to limit him to just such a small route tree. Expanding his route possibilities makes him much less predictable to the defense. This will make him harder to cover, and more likely to produce.

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Will Fuller flashed his elite potential in the early-goings of 2017. The Houston Texans can help him light it up for a full season with Deshaun Watson returning, and a refreshed route tree.