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For years, the Houston Texans have been good, but not good enough. Will Fuller knows this.
The franchise has won five AFC South Division titles since entering the NFL back in 2002, but has yet to make it past the divisional round of the playoffs.
This past season, the Texans won 11 games but were bounced in the wild card round by the Indianapolis Colts.
So, what does Houston need to do in order to take that next step?
It starts with wide receiver Will Fuller.
We know that DeAndre Hopkins is one of the best wideouts in football, but other than him, the Texans don't really have many weapons in the passing game. Keke Coutee had a rather unproductive rookie year, and Houston tried to beef up its receiver corps by trading for Demaryius Thomas, but he tore his Achilles late in the season.
Basically, the Texans were left with Hopkins and not much else: Fuller was out due to a torn ACL.
But with Fuller on the mend and seemingly ready to resume being a significant contributor in Houston's offense, the Texans may have an X-factor on their hands.
There is no secret that Fuller is a good player when he is on the field.
During his rookie year, he hauled in 47 receptions for 635 yards and a couple of touchdowns, and through 10 games during his second season, he caught 28 passes for 423 yards and seven scores before succumbing to injury.
Fuller has played just 17 games over his last two seasons, so the Texans have been without a huge piece of their offense about half that time.
With a really good young quarterback in Deshaun Watson and an ultra-talented freak of nature in Hopkins, a healthy Fuller would go a long way in making the Texans' offense something to be feared rather than one that is short on options.
While Lamar Miller is a decent running back, it's blatantly obvious that the potential for Houston's offense lies within its aerial attack, as Watson was on pace for a historic rookie campaign in 2017 before tearing his own ACL, and this past year, he was solid in his first year back without many weapons to throw to.
Adding Fuller into the picture for a full 16-game season would completely change the game for the Texans, as it would not only give Watson another reliable option, but it would open up Hopkins and prevent defenses from keying on him all afternoon.
Yes, there are some expectations that Coutee will be more impactful in his second season, but there is no doubt that Houston needs Fuller in order to be taken seriously as a contender.
In a really good AFC South and a deep conference overall, the path to the Super Bowl will be a dogfight in the AFC this coming season, and it will be an arms race.
If the Texans go into this fight with the same bevy of weapons they had in 2018, they will end up being outgunned. There is just too much talent in the AFC for Houston to overcome if that ends up happening.
However, if Fuller gets back to 100 percent and can provide Watson with another dependable target, the Texans go from being essential afterthoughts to legitimate threats.
