The Texans selected Notre Dame wide receiver Will Fuller (6-0, 184) with the 21st pick in this year's NFL Draft. Watching the draft from his hometown of Philadelphia, Fuller said he jumped out of his seat when the phone rang Thursday night.
"That's a dream come true," Fuller said of being a first-round pick. "My goal ever since I was seven and started playing football was to play in the National Football League, it was never to go in round one, round two or round three, but wherever I got picked I was going to be satisfied. I'm just happy I got this done the first day."
Houston moved up one spot from its original No. 22 position, trading with Washington in order to get Fuller. In addition to swapping picks in the first, Washington also gets the Texans' 2017 6th-rounder. Cleveland had selected the only wide receiver, Baylor's Corey Coleman at No. 15.
"If you look at what ended up happening, I think three wide receivers maybe for the first time went in a row," General manager Rick Smith said. "We felt like there may be a run on the position."
Their instinct was right.
Both Washington and Minnesota also drafted wide receivers immediately following the Texans selection at No. 21, adding TCU's Josh Doctson and Mississippi's Laquon Treadwell, respectively.
Through 13 games in 2015, Fuller had 62 receptions for 1,258 yards receiving, scoring 14 touchdowns. Fuller impressed teams at this year's NFL Combine, after he ran the fastest 40-yard dash among wide receivers and second-fastest time among all players, clocking in at 4.32 seconds.
"When we talked about the two types of speed we look for, not only is he straight-line 40-yard dash time fast, he plays extremely fast and quick," Smith said Thursday night. "Adding that element to our offense, we all just felt it just really enhanced what we do offensively and with the creativity these guys have on our offensive staff, I think he'll be an excellent addition to our football team."
The first round took place Thursday night, while the second and third rounds are Friday evening. Rounds four through seven are Saturday afternoon. Below are the Texans' remaining draft picks.
RD 2: 52nd overall
RD 3: 85th overall
RD 4: 119th overall
RD 5: 159th overall
RD 5: 166th overall (via trade with New England)
RD 6: 195th overall (via trade with New York Jets)*Twitter.com/DeepSlant*
