If QB Deshaun Watson leaves the Texans, so should WR Will Fuller
The Houston Texans already had key decisions to make regarding their roster, and that was before quarterback Deshaun Watson officially requested a trade.
One of the big personnel decisions to be made by new general manager Nick Caserio and rookie coach David Culley is the re-signing of receiver Will Fuller. The former 2016 first-round pick from Notre Dame has caught 209 passes for 3,110 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career with the Texans. The most glaring issue with Fuller is his availability, as he has only played 53 out of a possible 80 games — meaning, the 6-0, 184-pound wideout has missed almost two full seasons worth of games with Houston.
Watson has been a deciding factor in getting the most out of Fuller. Of Fuller’s 13 career games with 100-plus yards receiving, Watson has been the quarterback in 11 of those games. The other two games were from Weeks 1-2 of Fuller’s rookie season when Brock Osweiler was the Texans’ starting quarterback.
In 20 games, without Watson, Fuller caught 62 passes for 779 yards and two touchdowns — averaging 3.1 catches for 38.95 yards and 0.1 touchdowns per game.
In 33 games with Watson, Fuller caught 147 passes for 2,331 yards and 20 touchdowns — averaging 4.46 catches for 70.64 yards and 0.6 touchdowns per game.
“I think in the past when he’s been healthy, he’s been pretty impactful,” former interim coach Romeo Crennel told reporters on Nov. 24, 2020. “This year he’s been able to stay healthy, so that impact just gets compounded so to speak. Having him out there making plays, I think that we all feel pretty good about that.”
The three-time Pro Bowler knew how to get the best out of Fuller, and there isn’t any guarantee he will be able to touch that level of production with a different field general in Houston.
If Fuller can truly follow Watson wherever he ends up next, it will be a great career move for Fuller. If he can’t, then he should hit the open market and carefully evaluate a situation that can help him tap into his first-round potential the Texans clearly saw when they selected him in 2016.
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4 goals Texans must accomplish if they trade QB Deshaun Watson
