NY Jets to ‘evaluate’ wide receiver Will Fuller in free agency

The NY Jets will be looking to upgrade their wide receiver corps this offseason. And one receiver they continue to be connected to is Houston Texans speedster Will Fuller.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last Tuesday that Fuller was one of the players the Jets would be “taking a look at” this offseason, along with JuJu Smith-Schuster and perhaps even restricted free agent Zach Pascal.

And as the days have gone on, the reports of a connection between the Jets and Fuller have continued to arise.

Fowler went on SportsCenter on Sunday and reported the type of receiver the Jets will be looking for and why Fuller makes perfect sense.

“I believe the New York Jets, from what I’m hearing, are looking for yards-after-catch ability, speed on the perimeter. Will Fuller will be one of those receivers they’ll evaluate that brings that to the table.”

Will Fuller makes a ton of sense for the NY Jets

Of course, with Fuller comes the connection to Deshaun Watson, the man who has been his quarterback since the 2017 season.

With Watson’s career year in 2020, Fuller was well on his way to being one of the best receivers in football before a late-season suspension ended his year early. Still, Fuller finished with a career-best 53 catches for 879 yards and eight touchdowns despite playing just 11 games.

It’s feasible to imagine a scenario where Fuller wants to follow his former quarterback to his next destination (assuming he’s traded) or vice versa. And the Jets might be in a prime position to add both.

Fuller is one of the best deep threats in football and showed in 2020 that he could be a true No. 1 receiver when on the field. Unfortunately, that’s proven difficult for him throughout his career.

The former first-round pick has yet to play more than 14 games in a season and hasn’t played more than 11 since his rookie season. That said, he was healthy in 2020 — he just missed the final five games due to a PED suspension.

Fuller would undoubtedly be a major upgrade if the Jets were able to land him. Spotrac projects Fuller to be worth somewhere around $16-17 million per season on a four-year contract.

That’s certainly expensive, albeit cheaper than a contract for someone like Allen Robinson who will likely command upwards of $20 million per year — if not more.

A trio of Fuller, Denzel Mims, and Jamison Crowder would be a more-than-capable starting group of wide receivers going into the 2021 season.

There’s certainly plenty of smoke around Fuller and the Jets. And oftentimes where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Only time will tell if this is one of those instances.