Getty Packers head coach Matt LaFleur (left) and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (right).
The Green Bay Packers are still looking for a wide receiver who fits Matt LaFleur’s description of a “legit guy who can take the top off the coverage” for next season, and some don’t think they should wait until the 2022 NFL draft to accomplish their task.
David Kenyon of Bleacher Report recently labeled the Packers as the “best fit” to sign former Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans receiver Will Fuller V in free agency, arguing the deep-threat veteran would inject some speed and talent back into their receiving corps to help make up for the loss of Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling from their 2021 roster.
“The ugly truth is, right now, the Green Bay Packers have a flaring shortage of explosiveness in the receiving corps,” Kenyon wrote on April 8.
Fuller averaged 14.7 yards per catch over his first season seasons in the NFL and will only be turning 28 on April 16, but he also comes with an extensive injury history that has forced him to miss at least five games every season since playing a career-high 14 as a rookie in 2016. Most recently, Fuller sustained a broken thumb in the fourth week of the 2021 season and ended up missing the remainder of the year, partially because of a late-year setback with the injury.
The Packers, however, have been linked to Fuller a number of times in the past and could finally be in a position to strike a true partnership. Here’s why Kenyon is sold on the pairing:
Will Fuller can provide that desperately needed element. In 55 career games, he’s totaled 49 such receptions—including 14 in 2020 with the Houston Texans.
Exactly how much the Packers are willing to pay is a real question, considering Fuller has only appeared in more than 11 games in a season when he was a rookie in 2016. But the Packers are undoubtedly the ideal option for Fuller’s skill set.
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Fuller Would Boost Packers’ Deep-Pass Game
The Packers wouldn’t just be getting a replacement for MVS if they signed Fuller; they would be adding an even faster receiver — he ran a class-best 4.32-40 time during the 2016 NFL Combine — with a stronger track record who could give Aaron Rodgers a brand-new No. 1 passing target.
Despite injuries being an obvious knock against him, Fuller has continually put up good numbers when healthy and touts a per-game average of more than 50 receiving yards. He made 53 receptions for 879 yards and eight touchdowns during his best season in 2020 — and still, he was only Deshaun Watson’s second-favorite receiving target right behind Brandin Cooks. If the Packers brought him in and allowed him to stretch the field more often with a four-time MVP throwing him the ball, the sky could be the limit.
The Packers also have some prior ties to Fuller. According to Aaron Reiss of The Athletic, they were one of the teams to reach out to the Texans and inquire about Fuller ahead of the trade deadline during the 2020 season. The Packers were searching for a quality No. 2 receiver to pair alongside Davante Adams and needed to consider their options, even though a contract like Fuller’s would have been extremely difficult to justify for a half-year rental. If there was interest once before, there’s no reason to think the Packers haven’t at least explored whether he could still fit their system.
Fuller Could Be Low-Risk, High-Reward Signing
It is hard to say for certain how high Fuller’s asking price might be at this point. A year ago, he signed a one-year contract with the Dolphins that guaranteed him more than $10 million, but that was before his season-ending injury made the investment look foolish. While other receivers have been paid well this offseason, chances are Fuller will have to settle for more of a prove-it price to show he can still be the deep-threat blazer he once was.
If that’s the case, then the Packers should be all over him.
The Packers are big fans of the bargain signings. Sometimes, the risk doesn’t pay off and money goes to waste on guys like Christian Kirksey or Rick Wagner. Other times, though, a forgotten man like De’Vondre Campbell joins the roster in June and becomes an All-Pro fixture of their defense over the course of a single season. Who knows where Fuller might fall in that spectrum, but it is worth taking a shot on him given how depleted their receiver room is.
The connection also makes sense from Fuller’s perspective. He is an injury-plagued veteran in his late 20s trying to avoid going out of style, so what better way to stay current than to catch passes every week from the league’s back-to-back reigning MVP while chasing a Super Bowl? There are a few other destinations that could have a similar appeal — including Cleveland where his former quarterback, Watson, now plays — but the Packers can at least make a compelling offer.