Will Fuller – WR
2021 Team: Miami Dolphins
Similar to the idea of the Vikings drafting a wide receiver at pick No. 12 in the 2022 NFL Draft, the signing of Will Fuller would be a lot of fun for Kirk Cousins’ offense.
Minnesota could go into the 2022 season with the receiver room as it currently stands and be just fine. K.J. Osborn emerged as a productive WR3 for this team last season, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Bisi Johnson, and rookie sixth-round pick Jalen Nailor make up the depth behind studs Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
However, adding a speedster like Fuller could help unlock another level to this team. Fuller is always a threat to beat a defense deep, which would unlock more room for Jefferson and Thielen in the underneath/intermediate area, where they both ranked among the league’s best in PFF receiving grade in 2021.
There is the glaring caveat of Fuller’s health. He played all of 65 snaps in 2021, and he has not played more than 650 snaps in a season since his rookie year in 2016.
That reason alone should make Fuller a fairly cheap option, as he has never proven to be able to stay on the field consistently. His ability when he is on the field should put him on the radar of every team, though.
Kevin O’Connell comes over from the Rams, where they had Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson with 1,000+ snaps each, as well as Robert Woods and Odell Beckham Jr combining for over 1,000 snaps.
One would expect the new Vikings offense to also feature heavy three wide receiver sets, so some added insurance to the stable of wideouts could go a long ways. If Fuller finds himself healthy for even half the year, that is eight or nine games where Minnesota has the best receiving trio in the league.
Not to mention, pairing Cousins’ deep ball accuracy with Fuller’s speed would have Captain Kirk singing “oooo-weee!” again. At this point in the offseason, who wouldn’t sign up for that possibility?