Will Fuller plays like Mike Wallace, and more prospect-player comparisons
Steve Palazzolo IDs five of the draft's best comparisons between a 2016 prospect and current NFL player.
Steve Palazzolo | 4 weeks ago
One of the staples of draft season is the use of player comparisons. It’s often a dangerous game, as no two players are exactly alike, but comparisons often help to paint a picture of a player’s style or skill set.
And that is the real key to properly using player comps: They may never completely encapsulate a player, but they must be clear which part of their game is being compared. A stylistic comp is just as it sounds, as it compares how two players play the game. A production comp is one that we should have more of an advantage with at PFF, as we can project what a player will look like as far as on-field performance in our various areas of grading.
During our draft process, we never tried to force any comparisons — some players simply don’t remind of any specific players — but along the way, there were a number of comps that worked well from a style or production standpoint, or sometimes both.
2016 prospect: Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
NFL player: Mike Wallace, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Comparison type: Style and production
Fuller is receiving first-round hype after a big-play career at Notre Dame and a 4.32 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine. There’s no doubt that Fuller’s speed shows up on the field and it compares favorably to Mike Wallace’s, as both players are more than capable of scaring defensive coordinators with their ability to get behind the defense. Fuller’s 708 yards on deep passes ranked third in the nation and made up 56 percent of his season total, so that was a massive chunk of his production.
Wallace’s peak seasons as a deep threat came early in his career with the Steelers between 2009 and 2011, including a career-high 571 yards on the deep ball in 2010. But starting in 2012 there was a steep drop-off in his production, and he’s never had more than 263 yards on deep passes since 2011. The difference has partially been because of quarterback play (his more recent quarterbacks, Miami’s Ryan Tannehill and Minnesota’s Teddy Bridgewater, do not possess the same arm strength as Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger), but a big part of Wallace’s downtick in production is a lack of downfield ball skills in contested situations. He’s still shown flashes of being able to get behind defenses, but he needs the right quarterback to get the ball out to him, as any underthrow that takes him back into the coverage is rarely caught. (See Wallace’s grades below.)
Fuller is similar in that his second gear is impressive and he will create downfield separation, but he will also need the right quarterback to get him the ball, as he’s not good at the catch point and his questionable hands (89th and 82nd in nation in drop rate the last two years) will leave a lot of big plays on the table. Both Fuller and Wallace have the speed to get behind the defense, they can create separation on the vertical route tree, and they are boom-or-bust players who need the right quarterback and system to fully maximize their skill sets.
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