The Miami Dolphins’ addition of Will Fuller to their wide receiver room has the potential to pay huge dividends for Miami’s passing attack, but the team is going to need to hold their expectations for Fuller for at least one week once the season starts — Fuller has one game remaining on a 2020 suspension that cost him the final five games of the year as the Texans flopped into the third-worst record in football.
But even with a reduced workload in 2020, Fuller measured in as one of football’s most efficient pass catchers according to Next Gen Stats — logging the 9th best positive net in his catch rate versus expected last season.
“No. 9: Will Fuller, Miami Dolphins
Catch rate: 70.7%
Expected catch rate: 63.1%
Difference: +7.6%Fuller’s totals likely would have been higher had he not been suspended for the final five games of the season (plus, one more in 2021) for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, which might have deflated his catch-rate difference, but with comparable targets and receptions to a few other receivers in or just outside this top 10, we’ll take his numbers in a shortened season at face value. Prior to his suspension, Fuller was leading the league in touchdowns on go routes (five), which comes as no surprise considering his blazing speed. As opposing defenders learned, pressing Fuller might slow him momentarily, but it wasn’t the answer to stopping him, evidenced by his 423 receiving yards gained against press coverage. That mark was the second-most in the league behind only DK Metcalf through Week 12.
As we’ve come to learn (though we wish we’d see more consistently), Fuller has a nose for a big game, too. His 125 receiving yards versus press in his final game of 2020 (Week 12 versus Detroit) was the second-highest single-game total posted by any player last season, trailing only one other receiver who also made this list: Davante Adams. Fuller has relocated to Miami in 2021 and still has the lingering portion of a suspension to serve, but he proved in 2020 that — when on the field and healthy — he’s a serious threat.” — Nick Shook, NFL.com
How good is a 70.7% catch rate? Miami’s two best pass catchers of the 2020 season, Mike Gesicki and DeVante Parker, were somewhere around 62% on the season — meaning Fuller hauled in nearly 10% more of his respective targets last year while catching passes from the Texans. Miami will need that kind of efficiency (and explosiveness) for the Dolphins’ passing attack to take shape and create the chunk plays needed for Miami to be a problem in a crowded field of AFC contenders.