Getty Wide receiver Will Fuller of the Miami Dolphins warms up before a game.
The Dallas Cowboys have yet to make a splash in the wide receiver market after the NFL draft, but the team could sign a former Miami Dolphins weapon.
Despite the additions of former Pittsburgh Steelers WR James Washington in free agency and Jalen Tolbert in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, experience is something still lacking in the Cowboys’ receiver group.
Depth WR Noah Brown has the most experience of any Cowboys WR, arriving in the league in 2017. Washington and Michael Gallup were drafted in the 2018 NFL draft, rounding out the three most experienced receivers on the roster.
Now, Insider the Star writer Nick Coppola is pointing toward former Dolphins and Houston Texans receiver Will Fuller as an ideal free agency signing for Dallas.
“Fuller would be a low-risk, low-cost option that could provide depth to the Cowboys’ WR corps,” Coppola said. “You can never have enough depth, and Fuller also brings experience that Dallas lacks at his position.”
There’s both reason to like Fuller as an option for the Cowboys and to also think Dallas should look elsewhere. In terms of the good, it starts with the former Texans receiver’s time in the Lone Star State.
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Time with Texans Shows Fuller’s Potential
Arriving into the league in the 2016 NFL draft, Fuller was selected by Houston as the 21st overall pick after a standout college career at Notre Dame. Fuller has always had explosive speed and hands, and he displayed that right away in the NFL.
As Pro Football Reference shows, his rookie campaign boasted 623 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Fuller set a standard for himself, and the now 28-year-old receiver did not dip below 400 receiving yards or two touchdowns in his next four seasons.
One of his best stats is just his touchdowns versus games played: Fuller has 24 touchdowns in 55 games played.
His final year with Houston in 2020 was Fuller’s best, in which the former Fighting Irish receiver totaled 879 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his final year with the Texans. That set him up for free agency heading into 2021, and Fuller signed with the Dolphins on a one-year, $10.625 million deal.
Cowboys Need to Be Wary
While Fuller has plenty to like, even Coppola recognizes that the receiver’s injury issues are something to be concerned about.
“The one downside to signing him is his health,” Coppola writes. “Apart from the aforementioned broken thumb last season, Fuller tore his ACL in 2018, forcing him to miss games in 2019 as well. He also suffered a broken collarbone in the 2017 season. With three injuries at age 28, there isn’t a guarantee he won’t get injured again and miss almost half the season.”
The broken thumb and a drug suspension led to Fuller playing just two games and making four catches, a disastrous season when considering Miami agreed to a short-term contract that paid him a sizable eight-figure salary.
Dallas could get burned in the same way, but not having to pay Fuller big money would mitigate the risk considerably. Considering that the former Dolphins receiver has yet to sign and July is fast approaching, the Cowboys getting a good deal should be a sincere possibility.