It’s Fuller Time

Wide receiver Will Fuller V was on track for 1,279 yards and at least 11 touchdowns before he was suspended after the Houston Texans’ 11th game in 2020. Hitting those marks would’ve placed him as the sixth-best receiver in the NFL at the end of last year.

Had Fuller Played a Full 2020, He Could’ve Finished as NFL’s No. 6 WR

Fuller will suit up for his first game for the Miami Dolphins on Sunday after finishing his six-game suspension dating back to last season after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. The receiver also missed one game for personal reasons that have not yet been announced.

The five-year veteran is coming off career highs in receptions, yards, yards per reception, TDs, first downs recorded for his team, average receptions per game, average yards per game and average yards per target. Talk about a projected wide receiver two for a club.

Fuller Chose New Team with Guaranteed Contract

Consequently, Fuller signed a fully-guaranteed one-year, $10 million dollar contract in the offseason.

There was a plethora of free-agent wideouts, including Pittsburgh Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster and Indianapolis Colts’ T.Y. Hilton, but Fuller chose to jump-ship from Houston and try a new team, where the other big names did not.

Miami Has Triple Receiving Threat for First Time in Years

Fuller joins former first-round pick DeVante Parker and rookie slot receiver Jaylen Waddle as the Dolphins’ starting three WRs for 2021. This is the first time Miami has three starting-caliber receivers to begin the year in many seasons.

Fuller is one of the most exciting deep threats in the NFL, averaging 14.9 yards per reception throughout his career. Additionally, in those 53 games, he has 24 TDs.

Full of Deep Threat

A main reason Fuller has been and will continue to be a deep threat is because of his speed.

His speed factor will only benefit Parker and Waddle. Head coach Brian Flores acknowledged that, along with his history of production and good route running was what drew the Dolphins to pursue Fuller, in an interview last week.

Miami is envisioning Fuller operating as the No. 2 WR for the team, with Parker contributing deep some, but playing in the short and mid-distances as well. Waddle has been featured more in the slot and in the short field. The Dolphins haven’t always had slot receivers, but they’ve had short-field contributors. Adding Fuller to their team, too, will give them a deadly combination Miami hasn’t debuted in ages.

Can Fuller Solve Team Receiving Woes this week in Las Vegas?

Fuller joins the team following a game where seemingly nothing went right for Miami. The WRs had more uncharacteristic drops then they’ve had as of late and only caught 25-of-41 passes as a team. The Dolphins also went 0-for-4 on fourth downs, despite having multiple passing attempts in the hands of players, who just dropped it across the first down line.

The Las Vegas Raiders offer a prime opportunity for the Dolphins to fix their woes on Sunday. Last season, most will remember the week 16 matchup between these two teams by the Hail Mary throw from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. That play highlights how poor the Raiders were in passing defense. 

Through two games this season, Las Vegas has allowed 507 yards, or 253.5 per game. Enough for Parker, Fuller, Waddle and tight end Mike Gesicki to go around.

Fuller and the Dolphins make their first trip to a new Las Vegas stadium with kickoff set for 4:25 eastern on Sunday.