Houston Texans All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins may garner the majority of the headlines surrounding this Texans offense, and rightly so. He is, at the end of the day, arguably the best receiver in the NFL.
However, Houston has another wideout that deserves more attention. Will Fuller, who recently had his fifth-year option picked up by the Texans, has been a reliable deep threat for Deshaun Watson throughout his first two seasons as their quarterback. Injuries have held back their productiveness at times, but when available Fuller has become a deadly weapon opposite Hopkins.
One stat which backs this claim up is to be seen in one of Pro Football Focus’ latest charts which lists “The Best QB-Receiver tandems in the NFL.” This chart takes into consideration all active players from 2006-2018 who were targeted at least 50 times. And with the second highest rating (138.2) are Watson and Fuller.
In their two years together, Watson has targeted Fuller 64 times, resulting in 45 completions, 782 yards, and the highest touchdown percentage shown on the chart with 17.2% (11 TDs).
Watson’s ACL injury his rookie year and Fuller’s inability to stay on the field for a full season has hampered their time together thus far. However, 2019 may well be the year where this clearly dangerous duo finally hit the ground running and show their true potential.
