The history of Will Fuller is essentially, when he plays, he’s
pretty good … but.
Unfortunately, Fuller has never played a full 16-game regular
season. He’s never played 15 games in a season. In fact,
only once in five seasons has he played more than 11 games and
overall he’s managed just 53-of-80 games (66.3%). But in
those 53 games, he’s managed a solid 12.54 fantasy points-per-game,
while never being the No.1 receiver.
Over his first four seasons, Fuller lived off of the leftovers
from DeAndre Hopkins. Which meant he never saw 100 targets in
a season. In fact, he averaged just 6.14 targets-per-game. Last
season, with “Nuk” in Arizona, Fuller’s game
improved as a “1A” alongside Brandin Cooks. His targets
went up only slightly (6.82), but his production skyrocketed to
17.2 FPts/G. That number put him in very good company …
at No.8 among all wide receivers, just below A.J. Brown (17.4)
and above DK Metcalf (17.1).
But of course his season ended around Thanksgiving. This time,
not because of an injury, but due to a six-game PED suspension.
He’ll also miss the first game of 2021 because of the violation.
Will Fuller in Miami
Fuller leaves the pass-friendly offense of Houston and budding
superstar Deshaun Watson (382-of-544 for 4,823 yards and 33 TDs)
for life near South Beach with an unknown quantity under center
– Tua Tagovailoa. We think Tua has the makeup to be a very
good quarterback, but the second-year starter still has a lot
to prove. The lefty did produce a 6-3 record as a rookie, but
it was primarily due to a great defense, not Tua’s performances.
The Alabama product did throw for 300-yards twice, but was also
pulled from two games due to lack of production. He should improve
in the upcoming season given he came into 2020 after major hip
surgery and no training camp or exhibition games due to the pandemic.
Still, Tua will almost certainly not be “Watson-like”
– at least not in Year 2.
Meanwhile, Fuller will once again have to share the spotlight
with other pass-catchers, namely DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki.
Parker led the Dolphins in targets (103) and receptions (63).
But he’s no Hopkins. On the other hand, the Dolphins’
tight end, Gesicki (53-703-6), is much more involved in the offense
than either Jordan Akins or Darren Fells ever were in Houston.
Will Fuller for 2021
There are simply too many question which need to be answered
before we can accurately predict how 2021 will go for Fuller.
Will he stay healthy? Will Tagovailoa improve? Does Miami discover
a running game either through the draft or free agency? My best
guess in March is - no, yes and yes.
What we do know is Fuller (16.6 yards-per-catch last season)
takes over as the Dolphins’ deep threat with Parker (12.6
ypc) in the medium-range, contested-catch role. This role could
be a problem for Fuller’s fantasy value since Tagovailoa’s
6.3 yards-per-attempt last season was 30th in the league. So until
we see more of the development from his young quarterback, I’m
of the belief that Fuller’s fantasy totals will take a step
back this season.
