Fifteen nuggets on what the Miami Dolphins are getting with receiver Will Fuller
During a six-part series, we’ve been assessing who the Miami Dolphins have landed so far in free agency and via the trade market.
Here’s Part 1 on linebacker Benardrick McKinney; Part 2 on four offensive additions (Jacoby Brissett, Malcolm Brown, Robert Foster and Cethan Carter); Part 3 on new center Matt Skura; Part 4 on Adam Butler, Justin Coleman and new punter Michael Palardy and Part 5 on new outside linebackers Brennan Scarlett and Duke Riley.
And we saved the offseason’s most-ballyhooed pickup for the sixth and final installment of this series.
Here’s a 15-pack of notes on new Dolphins wide receiver Will Fuller:
▪ How good is Fuller?
As CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr noted, he’s the only NFL receiver with at least 20 touchdowns while being targeted less than 250 times during the past four seasons. Fuller has 22 TDs on 241 targets, which is exceptional. Quarterback Deshaun Watson obviously deserves credit for that, too.
Pro Football Focus rated Fuller the 11th-best player in all of free agency this season.
“Will Fuller has the all-important speed you can’t teach, which will always elevate him beyond where his production would otherwise rank him,” the website said. “It was clear even when the Texans had DeAndre Hopkins as their No. 1 receiver that Fuller made a material difference to the offense just by being on the field.
“Defenses needed to respect that deep threat on every single snap. He has yet to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season and has missed a lot of time with injuries throughout his career, but… his speed threat is transformative for an offense that doesn’t have it.”
And PFF noted that “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 career — 14 of which came in two separate seasons.”
PFF graded Miami’s signing of Fuller at “elite” level, adding that Fuller “showed in DeAndre Hopkins’ absence that he could step up as a No. 1 receiver in 2020. Fuller’s 12 touchdown receptions on passes 20 or more yards downfield are a top-15 mark at the position since he entered the league in 2016, even with all the missed time.
“It’s a very strong deal for Miami — coming in lower per year than what the Patriots paid Nelson Agholor, a lesser deep threat. He’ll add a different element to a receiving corps that already has several guys who can win in contested-catch situations in DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki. The Dolphins needed some additional speed and another playmaker at wide receiver to provide some support for Tua Tagovailoa in his second NFL season. Fuller fits that bill.”
▪ Though Fuller signed a one-year deal that could be worth $13.6 million, the Dolphins could have Fuller for two years and between $29 million and $32 million if they apply the franchise tag on him next March. Next year’s franchise receiver tag is projected to be $19 million, per overthecap.com.
If Fuller plays very well in 2021, the hope would be to sign him to a multiyear deal without a one-year cap hit at that $19 million level.
Fuller spoke last week of hoping for a long-term commitment from Miami or another team next offseason.
Fuller’s deal includes a $9.635 million signing bonus, a $990,000 base salary, plus $3 million in incentives for catches, yards and touchdowns.
▪ Fuller historically has been far better than the Dolphins’ incumbent receivers in two areas that were shortcomings for Miami: separation from cornerbacks and yards after the catch.
Fuller has averaged 5.9 yards in yards after catch in his career, largely a byproduct of escaping from cornerbacks on a bunch of vertical throws.
That 5.9 is very good.
For perspective, Dolphins players averaged 4.4 yards after catch, which was 30th in the league.
Among 197 NFL receivers, DeVante Parker’s 2.7 YAC, on average, was 173rd (and second-worst among players targeted with at least 100 passes, ahead of only Marvin Jones, who’s now with Jacksonville).
Preston Williams was 177th in YAC at 2.5 before his season-ending foot injury. Ex-Dolphin Isaiah Ford also was tied for 177th at 2.5.
Lynn Bowden was 107th at 4.2. Jakeem Grant was the only Dolphins receiver in the top half of the league in average YAC last season at 5.1 per catch.
▪ Last season, Fuller 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 A.J. Green for worst among receivers, and Mike Gesicki’s 2.0 was worst among tight ends.
The result was that 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. Among quarterbacks who made at least eight starts, only Mitch Trubisky and Joe Burrow threw into tight windows more often. Ryan Fitzpatrick was a 21.7 percent.
So Fuller will give this offense something it badly needed: a receiver who can consistently break free from cornerbacks.
▪ Fuller, by all accounts, was well-regarded in Houston.
“When he’s played, he’s made huge plays,” former Texans coach Bill O’Brien said.
▪ Fuller lined up 24 percent of the time in the slot last season, the rest on the boundary. When Fuller was in the slot, he caught 18 passes of 21 targets for 303 yards, a sterling 16.8 yard average.
Parker and Williams also have been very effective when they have been used selectively in the slot. So even though all three of those players are primarily boundary receivers, all of them — along with tight end Gesicki and receivers Albert Wilson and Bowden — can do damage in the slot.
▪ In 11 games last season, 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. Only eight quarterbacks had more deep passes dropped. If those three had been caught, Tagovailoa would have been a very respectable 13 for 29 on deep balls for well over 350 yards.
Keep in mind that Dolphins receivers dropped none of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s deep ball attempts, which is one reason Fitzpatrick is perceived to have had a better year throwing deep balls. In fact, Tagovailoa would have had more deep ball completions than Fitzpatrick if not for those drops.
▪ After Fuller was suspended for the final five games of 2020 and first game of 2021 for a PED violation, Watson said: “We all love him. It’s one slip-up and he got popped.”
Watson always has spoken glowingly of Fuller: “Will’s really good, very confident in himself,” the Texans quarterback said last year, adding that “it would have been hell” if Houston had traded Fuller before last October’s trade deadline.
▪ Fuller’s 16.5 yards per catch 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 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).
The Dolphins now will be the only AFC team with two players who finished above 70 percent in that category. Encouraging!
▪ Couple more good nuggets on Fuller, courtesy of Dolphins podcaster Travis Wingfield:
“QBs had a passer rating of 132.5 when targeting Fuller last year. His 2.28 yards per route run ranked 11th among WRs. His average depth of target was 13.3, nobody with a higher [average depth of target] had a better catch % than Fuller’s 70.7. Fuller’s 11.7 yards per target led the NFL last season.”
▪ The concern is health.
Fuller 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 heading into last season.
He missed time after sustaining a broken collarbone during training camp in 2017, then had a torn ACL in 2018 and missed time with hamstring injuries in 2016, 2018 and 2019. He had groin surgery last spring, but was fine for the start of the season. He said last week that he has never felt better.
▪ The former 21st overall pick out of Notre Dame ran the 40-yeard dash in 4.32 seconds at the 2016 NFL Combine, best among wide receivers.
▪ Perhaps the two most impressive things on Fuller’s NFL resume: 24 touchdowns in 53 games and the 14.9 yards-per-reception average.
That 14.9 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.
Here’s my Wednesday Miami Hurricanes 12-pack of nuggets.
Here’s my Wednesday Marlins column with Craig Mish with feedback from a scout and inside the organization on a bunch of players.
And please see the links above for the first five parts on my series on the Dolphins’ veteran additions this offseason.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 5:16 PM.
