Texans' Will Fuller focused on reducing drops, adding strength in Year 2
7:35 AM CT
- Sarah BarshopESPN Staff Writer
HOUSTON --
Will Fuller V knows he had trouble catching the ball in key spots last season. That’s why his focus during the offseason, he says, has been “catching the ball consistently.”
The
Houston Texans wide receiver, who was the team’s first-round draft pick in 2016, was
tied for 89th in the league with four drops and ranked 96th with drops on 4.4 percent of his target. And while that’s not a huge number, those drops came in big moments.
The biggest came in the third quarter of the Texans’ playoff loss to the
New England Patriots. With Houston trailing 24-13, Fuller dropped a would-be touchdown on a perfect pass from then-quarterback
Brock Osweiler in the end zone. The Texans were forced to punt on the next play and went on to lose 34-16.
And although Fuller seemed to have more difficulty on deep balls -- he
caught just 13.3 percent of passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, third-lowest in the NFL -- he said he doesn’t think those passes down the field are more difficult to haul in.
“Wherever the ball is coming from, you catch it with your hands and catch it with your eyes,” Fuller said. “Every pass is different, but they are all the same with what you catch the ball with. I won’t say any is harder than deep balls or short balls.”
Fuller played in 14 games during his rookie season, finishing with 47 catches for 635 yards and two touchdowns. After the season, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said he thought Fuller needed to get stronger, something the young receiver said he still has time to accomplish.
O’Brien said that while it’s only May and there’s a ways to go before the season starts, he has been impressed by the improvement in Fuller since his rookie year.
“He definitely has better knowledge of our system,” O’Brien said. “For the guys that were rookies last year, this is a much easier spring for them, because they know where to go, they know what to do. I’ve seen a lot of improvement with all the guys that were rookies last year.”
For Fuller, that comes from being more comfortable on the field and being past his rookie year.
“I feel like it’s a lot different, first year to second year,” Fuller said. “Last year I was thinking a lot, just coming in trying to learn the offense and trying to make sure I was doing everything perfect. This year I’m just a lot more relaxed.
“Last year I was starting from ground zero. This year I’m a lot more comfortable, and I’m just going to build off what I did last year.”
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It does no good to be fast, if you can't run routes..............and can't catch. And as he carries a relatively small footprint, he needs to significantly increase his strength in order to mix it up some with DBs to challenge for ball possession.