PRESSURE COOKER
Why it's all on the line for this Texans receiver in 2020
Jun 10, 2020, 10:02 am
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images.
During the Houston Texans 53-32 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Will Fuller's numbers seemed like a replica performance from Madden 20. He recorded a career-high 217 receiving yards (15.5 AVG) on 14 catches, to go along with three touchdowns in the win. After the home victory, Fuller credited his performance as a result of playing alongside his All-Pro colleague, DeAndre Hopkins.
A few weeks later, Fuller had another breakout performance, this time during the Texans' 20-17 victory against their AFC South rival, the Indianapolis Colts. Although he failed to find his way into the end zone, Fuller recorded a team-high 140 yards (20.0 AVG) on seven receptions in a Week 12 win inside NRG Stadium in Houston. Again, following his performance, Fuller acknowledged Hopkins as the reason for his explosive play on the field.
Since his arrival to Houston in 2016, Fuller has entrenched himself as one of the most talented receivers in the league. The Notre Dame product has recorded a total of eight career games with 100 or more reception yards while becoming the first Texan to catch 10 touchdowns in his first 25 games.
In most circumstances, a franchise would normally consider Fuller as their No. 1 option, but playing alongside Hopkins for four seasons has categorized him as a hidden gem for the Texans — due to the amount of coverages the four-time Pro-Bowler demands on the weekly basis.
As he enters his fifth season, Fuller can no longer reap the benefits of playing next to Hopkins following his departure to the Arizona Cardinals. Houston will rely heavily upon Fuller's ability to fill an enormous void left by Hopkins — as James Palmer of the NFL Network reported, many believe Fuller will become the Texans No. 1 receiver in 2020.
Although he has the skill set to step in as the Texans' primary target, the conditions surrounding the Philadelphia native may create an immense amount of pressure for Fuller to live up to.
"Playing with Hop, like I always say, is easy," Fuller said. "He gets a lot of coverages thrown his way, and I feel like that's why they brought me here, to help him out. It took me a while, but I finally had this big game, so I'm just trying to help ... out." — Fuller via ESPN.
In a year when he will be taking on more on-field responsibilities, the Texans are asking Fuller to do so in his contract season — the most important year of his career. At 26-years-old, the 6-foot receiver is entering the final year of his rookie deal and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2021. The calculated market value for a player of his caliber is worth 50 million over the next four years, which signifies next spring as Fuller's largest payday of his career.
When taking a look at his next deal, one must wonder whether Fuller has done enough over past four seasons for the Texans reward him with a new contract in the likes of his contemporaries Stefon Diggs, Alshon Jeffery and Allen Robinson — whose current contract resembles what Fuller may receive come next offseason.
Talent-wise, yes. production-wise, no.
Each of the previous three receivers has recorded 1,000 or more receiving yards at least twice in their respective careers, with Jeffery leading the way with 1,421 yards as a member of the Bears in 2013. Fuller has yet to register a season posting over 1,000 receiving yards. In fact, his career-high came after he posted a total of 670 receiving yards during the 2019 season. Certainly, Fuller has never been in a position to record over 1,000 receiving yards for a season, but the absence of the milestone goes far beyond playing in the shadows of Hopkins.
The most significant amount of pressure surrounding Fuller next season is his ability to stay healthy. Hall of Famer Bill Parcells once stated, "The best ability is availability," and for Fuller, his availability is rare.
After appearing in a career-high 14 games as a rookie, Fuller has only been active for 29 out of a possible 51 games since 2017 (including the postseason). Last season, he barely appeared in 11 games, as an abundance of ailments kept Fuller in and out of the Texans lineup. Despite the addition of Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb, the Texans cannot afford for Fuller to miss a significant amount of time given his importance to the team's success this year.
If not for the constant groin, hamstring and knee-related injuries, the burden Fuller is carrying into the new season would be little to none. There would be no concerns about Fuller's ability to step in as the Texans' top option, and a new contract would be inevitable to remain in Houston. However, this is the reality of the situation. Health and living up to the high expectations in the midst of a contract season are all the ingredients to create the perfect pressure situation for Fuller entering the 2020 season.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.