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Will Fuller WR Notre Dame- 1st round 2016

Honoring Earl 34 said:
He may need this .

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:spit: Thank you, I love the feel of ice cold tea spewing from my nose in the morning, feels like...pain...
 
bah007 said:
I also don't understand why everyone is so defensive and can't accept any criticism of the guy whatsoever. Nobody has trashed him. The only negative points anyone has brought up are accurate. If he was perfect he wouldn't have been available at #21.
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Your post is spot on...............especially this part of your commentary.
 
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That's Hopkins torching the best CB in the NFL. We did just fine stretching the field last year. We just didn't have a QB that could take advantage of it. How many times did we complain about having guys open downfield and Hoyer screwing it up? Just my opinion but...

We didn't need a "deep threat" across from Hopkins. We needed someone competent. Someone who can force teams to stop doubling Nuk. Fuller could be that guy if he can catch the ball. If he can't catch the ball then what's the point?

Hopefully Fuller can be that guy but I was quite certain that Doctson/Treadwell could be. I don't hate Fuller. I like him. I see the appeal. I'm just not a fan of basing your draft philosophy off of one specific trait. There's 5 dimensions to a receiver (1. Hands; 2. Routes; 3. Athleticism; 4. Physicality; 5. Blocking). Fuller is superior to Doctson/Treadwell in one of those. He's inferior in the other four. It just doesn't make sense to me but I'm stubborn and hopefully the kid makes me look like an idiot.
 
An interesting analysis by John Harris on HT.COM:

Prospect of the Day: Will Fuller
Posted Apr 19, 2016
John Harris Texans Analyst



Notre Dame WR Will Fuller
6-0, 186 lb.
Junior

Bio
Played HS football at Roman Catholic, Philadelphia, PA 1st team AAAA All-State football selection Member of the Rivals 250 list MVP of the Philadelphia Catholic League (AAAA), Played for East squad in Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl

Honors
6th in the nation in touchdown receptions (13 in regular season, 14 in total) Biletnikoff Award Semifinalist 2nd team All-American (Phil Steele, TSN, FWAA, AP, CBS Sports, Athlon, SI, USA Today)
29 total touchdowns in two seasons.
Notre Dame MVP
(Tied) 1st all-time in touchdown receptions in a season (15 in 2014), 2nd all-time in touchdown receptions for a career (29)

Combine/Pro Day Measurements
Arms: 30 ¾”
Hand: 8 ¼”
40-yard dash: 4.32 secs
Bench (reps of 225): 10
Broad Jump: 10’6”
Vertical Jump: 33.5”
3-cone: 6.93 secs
Short Shuttle: 4.27 secs
60 yard shuttle: 11.44 secs



Overall
After the 2014 season, I was completely convinced that Fuller was one of the most dynamic players in college football with the ball in his hands. I don’t know how many times I said something to the extent of…

“Just throw him a quick screen and get out of his way.”

I can’t even remember how many quick screens Notre Dame threw his way and heeded my advice 100 percent of the time. He turned in a 76 catch, 15 TD season, tying a Notre Dame season record.

But, Fuller, as a one trick catch-and-run pony, ended early into the 2015 season opener against Texas. On Notre Dame’s first scoring drive of the game, Fuller ran a post into quarters coverage and caught a dime from his QB Malik Zaire to give Notre Dame an early lead. Later in the game, he roared past a Texas cornerback on the nine route and caught another touchdown in Notre Dame’s 38-0 win.

The next week, though, against Virginia, Fuller turned into an entirely different sort of receiving weapon. Zaire was injured in the third quarter and Virginia had just re-taken the lead 27-26. DeShone Kizer, Zaire’s backup, didn’t have much time to construct a game winning drive.

But, he did have Fuller. As the clock wound down late in the 4th quarter…

:20
:19
:18

...Kizer had one bullet left in the chamber and he took a shot deep down the field. Fuller sped past senior Virginia CB Maurice Canady and cradled the moon shot from Kizer and stepped across the goal line for the game-winning touchdown.

The Irish offense lost a starting running back, a starting tight end and a starting quarterback, yet because Fuller never missed a snap, the Irish offense had a chance every single Saturday. He’s a downfield threat. He’s a catch-and-run receiver. He averaged over 20 yards per catch, 15th in the nation.

Quote
“(Fuller) is very good. He’s fast and he runs his routes. He has a way of finding the ball and manipulating his body against a defender to get the ball in his hands” - Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer

What to like
--The Juice - 4.32 juice
--Gets from 0 to 60 in a hurry
--Catch and run ability on short screens, slants or hitches --Suddenness to get in and out of his breaks --Precise route runner --Tracks the ball over his shoulder well on deep throws outside the numbers.
--Beat some of the best corners deep down the field repeatedly.

What needs some work
--Will body catch when he doesn’t trust his hands --As such, average hands, but not bad hands --Still slight build --Can be robotic on intermediate routes or double moves --Physical corners, like Clemson CB Mackensie Alexander, roughed him up in press coverage --Needs work on interior, intermediate routes.

Projection
At the combine, I happened to be standing immediately to Fuller’s right as he was answering questions from the assembled media. Some media member had gone around to each table asking prospects the same question.

“So, how fast are you going to run the 40?”

Every time I heard him ask that question, a player answered with a bold proclamation about what he was going to do. One player said “oh, 4.2 for sure”. He ran in the 4.4s. He wasn’t the only one to be wrong.

So, when Fuller got the same question, I was curious myself.

He ended up being wrong too, just not in the same way as the others.

He found his interviewer, looked him in the eye and assuredly made a prediction.

“4.35. That’s what I’ve been doing in training, so that should work,” Fuller noted.

He ran 4.32 two days later and the NFL draft community was abuzz immediately. That speed shines through in everything he does on the field but that 40 time put everyone on notice. It also stamped a first round grade on Fuller and put him in play for teams looking for a speedy offensive weapon down the field. Sure, he doesn’t have DeAndre Hopkins-like hands, but he has a different gear than anyone in the 2016 NFL Draft class, regardless of offensive position.
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infantrycak said:
What mythical pairing are you referring to? Flacco, Rodgers and Big Ben are the long ballers of the league. None of them attempts even one 40+ per game and their completion % respectively is approximately 20, 25 & 30. Get set to be disappointed if you expect constant rain instead of a random thunderstorm.
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I don't quite know what to make of this response, unless you're just jerking my chain.

Air Coryell is not a myth. It's the offensive system developed by Don Coryell with the San Diego Chargers from the mid-70's to mid-80's, with Dan Fouts at QB. The Football Hall of Fame describes Air Coryell as "one of the most explosive and exciting offenses that ever set foot on an NFL field".

To describe the offense would take too much time and space. Go to Wikipedia and read up on it.
 
WolverineFan said:
VCBvsZE.gif


That's Hopkins torching the best CB in the NFL. We did just fine stretching the field last year. We just didn't have a QB that could take advantage of it. How many times did we complain about having guys open downfield and Hoyer screwing it up? Just my opinion but...

We didn't need a "deep threat" across from Hopkins. We needed someone competent. Someone who can force teams to stop doubling Nuk. Fuller could be that guy if he can catch the ball. If he can't catch the ball then what's the point?

Hopefully Fuller can be that guy but I was quite certain that Doctson/Treadwell could be. I don't hate Fuller. I like him. I see the appeal. I'm just not a fan of basing your draft philosophy off of one specific trait. There's 5 dimensions to a receiver (1. Hands; 2. Routes; 3. Athleticism; 4. Physicality; 5. Blocking). Fuller is superior to Doctson/Treadwell in one of those. He's inferior in the other four. It just doesn't make sense to me but I'm stubborn and hopefully the kid makes me look like an idiot.
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I understand that lots of folks (probably most) preferred Doctson or Treadwell, and that's fine - they may ultimately be proven right (or half right) down the road. But with that said, how does the fact that the guy is fast translate to basing draft philosophy on one specific trait? Isn't productivity another trait? Does being fast by definition mean you can't have any other positive traits? It's not like they just drafted Skeets Nehemiah. The guy put up impressive numbers playing against a big-boy college schedule. That doesn't guarantee success, but the guy has shown the ability to have success on the football field - not just a track meet, or the 40 yard dash at the combine.
 
amazing80 said:
I don't understand the hate on Fuller. He was the guy I wanted for weeks (out of the wideouts). We already have Hopkins and Strong, so Doctson and Treadwell were not needed. We desperately needed a slot guy who could do damage deep and keep safeties off of Hopkins. Coleman was an option, but his route running was trash and watching him try to block someone was painful. Fuller was the best and obvious choice.
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This is driving me crazy. You don't draft speed over talent. Doctson catch radius, great hands and blazing fast short area quickness more than make up for his overall speed. His 10 yard split was faster than Kolby Listenbee's.

Hopkins on one side, Doctson on the other is an incredible luxury for a QB. Not to mention impossible to cover in the red zone.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
TY Hilton has a much stouter body and considered strong for his size. Beyond that, Hilton plays the slot in more than 50% of plays, with his quickness usually allowing him to find an unoccupied uncontested spot. He does not seek nor particularly excel in a jump ball scenario in traffic.
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Which is what I expect we'll do with
ChampionTexan said:
I understand that lots of folks (probably most) preferred Doctson or Treadwell, and that's fine - they may ultimately be proven right (or half right) down the road. But with that said, how does the fact that the guy is fast translate to basing draft philosophy on one specific trait? Isn't productivity another trait? Does being fast by definition mean you can't have any other positive traits? It's not like they just drafted Skeets Nehemiah. The guy put up impressive numbers playing against a big-boy college schedule. That doesn't guarantee success, but the guy has shown the ability to have success on the football field - not just a track meet, or the 40 yard dash at the combine.
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Not to mention that while I absolutely loved watching Hopkins destroy Revis in that game... anyone claiming he's "The best corner in the league" simply hasn't watched the guy the last few seasons post injury. He is NOT the best corner in the NFL anymore. He no longer has that elite top gear to recover and can and will get beat deep.
 
amazing80 said:
I don't understand the hate on Fuller. He was the guy I wanted for weeks (out of the wideouts). We already have Hopkins and Strong, so Doctson and Treadwell were not needed. We desperately needed a slot guy who could do damage deep and keep safeties off of Hopkins. Coleman was an option, but his route running was trash and watching him try to block someone was painful. Fuller was the best and obvious choice.
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This is driving me crazy. You don't draft speed over talent. Doctson catch radius, great hands and blazing fast short area quickness more than make up for his overall speed. His 10 yard split was faster than Kolby Listenbee's.

Hopkins on one side, Doctson on the other is an incredible luxury for a QB. Not to mention impossible to cover in the red zone.
CloakNNNdagger said:
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Looks like a little kid!
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Yeh but he's fast and we didn't need another really good WR we just needed more speed to "take the top off". Lol
 
The Texans had their choice out of Fuller, Doctson, or Treadwell. They chose Fuller, and they even traded up to make sure they got their guy. If they were that certain about it then I am ok with it. if they made a mistake, at least they called their shot instead of waiting to see what someone else did, and taking whatever was left over.
 
ChampionTexan said:
I understand that lots of folks (probably most) preferred Doctson or Treadwell, and that's fine - they may ultimately be proven right (or half right) down the road. But with that said, how does the fact that the guy is fast translate to basing draft philosophy on one specific trait? Isn't productivity another trait? Does being fast by definition mean you can't have any other positive traits? It's not like they just drafted Skeets Nehemiah. The guy put up impressive numbers playing against a big-boy college schedule. That doesn't guarantee success, but the guy has shown the ability to have success on the football field - not just a track meet, or the 40 yard dash at the combine.
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Of course production counts and all 3 guys were productive. That's why they're in the 1st round conversation. I'm talking traits wise.

I'm not saying a fast guy can't have other traits. TY Hilton and Tyler Lockett had a lot of those traits. I'm just saying I don't see much else other than speed. I really don't know how to describe it any other way than I already have. I feel like we passed on two superior players because this guy was faster than they are (just my opinion).
 
Some of you are making Fuller sound like a scrub. It's ridiculous. The guy put up good number the last 2 seasons, he has a great skill set that matched what we needed. He may have some weaknesses, but so did the other wideouts. His strengths match our weakness on offense. The ability to stretch the field. It really isn't a difficult concept to understand.
 
USA Today gave us the worst grade for the 1st round. The so-called expert over there wrote this:

21. Will Fuller, WR Notre Dame — Houston Texans (from Washington)
GRADE: F
Analysis: Our first failing grade of the night. Fuller is the fastest receiver in the class but he’s not a great route-runner or a natural pass catcher — two things you want from a first-round receiver. Fuller will stretch the field, which will make it difficult to double DeAndre Hopkins, but any receiver with great speed can play that role.

There were no other F's & only one D (Eli Apple - NYG).

SI said this:

21. HOUSTON TEXANS
Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
GRADE: A-
Adding Fuller to a receiver corps already blessed with DeAndre Hopkins is a force multiplier for the Houston offense. While Hopkins is the do-it-all guy, Fuller is a pure speed burner who will take the top off any coverage. He's not physically dominant, he'll drop passes and he needs work with the full route tree, but he's going to help this offense a ton. Factor in the free agent additions of Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller, and Bill O'Brien has himself a pretty formidable offense all of a sudden.

Yahoo sports:

21. Houston Texans: WR Will Fuller – The Texans flipped a 2017 sixth-rounder to slide up a spot and guarantee they got the speed option they wanted. There were more complete receivers on the board, such as Laquon Treadwell and Josh Doctson, but the Texans wanted a vertical threat to complement DeAndre Hopkins. Now, with Hopkins, Fuller and Lamar Miller, the Texans have game-changing playmakers. Helps out Brock Osweiler tremendously. Grade: B-

CBS Sports says:

21 B Texans select: Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
They needed to add speed and stretch the field. He's not as good as some other receivers, but he can fly. It makes sense.



 
xtruroyaltyx said:
I'm going to get behind the guy because of the speed. Hopefully OB puts him to use.

Maybe they really like strong as the number 2 wr
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I don't think that the Texans are thinking of the offense in terms of number 2-4 (hopkins given) versus having 3-4 Wrs sets with guys that have cause different match-up problems. I will be interested to see if the Texans try to upgrade TE and what type. I think the Texans will some version of the pro spread, passing match-up offense. What we saw the first two years was more modified Kubiak with some stuff thrown in than what O'Brien envisions as how to play offense in 2016.
 
WolverineFan said:
Of course production counts and all 3 guys were productive. That's why they're in the 1st round conversation. I'm talking traits wise.

I'm not saying a fast guy can't have other traits. TY Hilton and Tyler Lockett had a lot of those traits. I'm just saying I don't see much else other than speed. I really don't know how to describe it any other way than I already have. I feel like we passed on two superior players because this guy was faster than they are (just my opinion).
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Kinda like keeping Rolle instead of James III because Rolle was taller. That didn't work out so well.
 
DocBar said:
Jacoby Jones, except Not only could Jones not catch, he was also excellent at fumbling. But hey, he was fast.
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Actually no. Jacoby just looked fast. He wasn't any faster than Docston we just passed on for not fast enough although in every other regard superior. JJ was 4.5.
 
It's done now. All we can do is hope they either know something we don't or get lucky and this guy isn't done getting better.
 
mussop said:
This is driving me crazy. You don't draft speed over talent. Doctson catch radius, great hands and blazing fast short area quickness more than make up for his overall speed. His 10 yard split was faster than Kolby Listenbee's.

Hopkins on one side, Doctson on the other is an incredible luxury for a QB. Not to mention impossible to cover in the red zone.

Yeh but he's fast and we didn't need another really good WR we just needed more speed to "take the top off". Lol
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Jeez, talk about driving some people crazy.
 
GoCoogs said:
The Texans had their choice out of Fuller, Doctson, or Treadwell. They chose Fuller, and they even traded up to make sure they got their guy. If they were that certain about it then I am ok with it. if they made a mistake, at least they called their shot instead of waiting to see what someone else did, and taking whatever was left over.
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Exactly. We can all have our opinions about who "we" wanted them to take. But nobody can say that they didn't go get the player that they wanted. The proved it with the trade. And that's good enough for me.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
The more I think about the pick, the more I like it. Texans have never had a receiver like this.
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Well, I guess that's true. They had AJ, who was a burner early on, but a lot more of a no brainer 1st round pick. They had Mathis, who was even faster, but a head case.
 
Besides the skill of our past QBs and to some extent our TEs, a major reason why we didn't seem to throw into the middle of the field was be cause we had no-one who could scare a safety out the box.............Fuller should be that piece that could scare the pants off of safeties and get that middle ready for the pickings.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Besides the skill of our past QBs and to some extent our TEs, a major reason why we didn't seem to throw into the middle of the field was be cause we had no-one who could scare a safety out the box.............Fuller should be that piece that could scare the pants off of safeties and get that middle ready for the pickings.
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Yes! This should definitely open up the middle so our TEs can get in there and drop the ball repeatedly. Hell, the Texans could lead the league in drops this year. #1 baby!!
 
The Rundown: Why The Houston Texans Moved Up One Spot For Will Fuller
Patrick Starr
12:46 PM
A closer look at why the Houston Texans moved up to land William Fuller in the 2016 NFL Draft.


The Houston Texans learned from past experiences as a franchise, (most notably missing out on a couple of highly coveted prospects in 2015), and this, along with other experiences, changed how the team now approaches the NFL Draft.

Let’s take a look.

The Texans tried everything they could last season to land a wide receiver with speed and play making ability. Phillip Dorsett was highly valued by the Texans and, after selecting Kevin Johnson, they went to work getting a deal in place with the New England Patriots to land Dorsett at the end of the first round. The deal fell apart after the Indianapolis Colts selected Dorsett.

Move to later in the draft, the Texans had Tyler Lockett on their draft radar and put together a package of picks to move up to the New York Jets' spot to land the Kansas State product. The Seattle Seahawks one upped the Texans and selected Lockett themselves, causing the Texans to miss out on what could have been a nice addition to their offense.

The Texans have made a habit over the past season that if they like a player, they are not afraid to trade up for them. Louis Nix, Benardrick McKinney, and Jaelen Strong (who was the consolation prized instead of Lockett) were all acquired via draft day trades and each player has added talent to the Texans roster.

Fast forward to last night.

The Texans were sitting at #22, which was considered as the portion of the draft where wide receivers were set to start flying off the board. When the Cleveland Browns took Corey Coleman, the wheels started moving. With the Redskins, Texans, Vikings, and Bengals picking all in succession, the receiver run was ready to begin. Each team was considered wide receiver-needy and, with only one true speed player left from the group of Will Fuller, Laquon Treadwell, and Josh Doctson, the Texans had to act. The reason to act was attached to the Bengals, who were reportedly looking to move up to the Redskins spot at #21 to potentially grab Will Fuller.

The Texans did not want a reenactment of the missed timing endured during the 2015 NFL Draft and saw enough value to land the receiver they wanted by giving up a 2017 6th-round pick to move up one spot.

Past experiences would not be the discussion once again in the 2016 NFL Draft and the Texans landed their guy in Will Fuller on their own terms.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Besides the skill of our past QBs and to some extent our TEs, a major reason why we didn't seem to throw into the middle of the field was be cause we had no-one who could scare a safety out the box.............Fuller should be that piece that could scare the pants off of safeties and get that middle ready for the pickings.
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Horse pucky. We ran TEs down the middle of the field for years with Kevin Walter opposite AJ. Wide the F open TEs. When we had a scheme that was more than 'trust us, I can copy NE without Brady.'
 
I am so ready for the next round. Watching video of him at the combine makes me more disappointed - I cannot recall a less athletic speed guy. Looking forward to seeing him in pads and running straight lines. Got to stay positive...
 
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