Texans’ Defensive Star Hilariously Laments Not Starting Will Fuller in Fantasy Football

Like many of us, D.J. Reader is a tad obsessed with fantasy football. And this week, the Houston Texans’ nose tackle has some serious lineup regrets. Already.

And they involve his own teammate.

Reader neglected to start Texans wideout Will Fuller this week. Big mistake. Fuller went off for 140 yards on seven catches against the Indianapolis Colts, changing everything for Houston’s offense with his speedy presence.

“I’m pretty upset,” Reader says. “I didn’t start him in fantasy this week. He stretches defenses. He scares defenses with that speed.”

It’s hard not to get a kick out of D.J. Reader. In a Texans world where even the biggest personalities sometimes seem muted by the thy-shall-give-no-interesting-soundbite constraints of Coach Bill O’Brien, Reader still finds a way to be himself. Even when it comes to the silliest things.

Reader is hardly the only fantasy football player to be kicking themselves for not going with Fuller in his first game back in the lineup after a three game absence. Of course, Reader also happens share a locker room with the receiver he benched.

Reader swears he meant to put Fuller in his lineup. This was not a case of a player thinking his just recovered teammate might need a game or two to get back into the flow. Life just got in the way of Reader’s fantasy decision making. He was actually playing on Thursday Night Football after all. And he also wants to be a good dad.

“I was watching my baby earlier,” the Texans’ run-stuffing difference maker explains.

Seems like a more than good reason to neglect the fantasy team a little. Who wouldn’t understand that? Well, maybe Reader himself. Even while he was on the field for warmups, he remembers thinking that he should have gotten Fuller into his lineup.

“I knew it,” Reader says.

This is not just some act for reporters either. When a small media scrum drifts away from his locker, with a crucial victory and a bounce back performance from the Texans’ defense secure,  Reader’s mind wanders back to the other game he plays. The one that’s only based off real football. The one where a 6-foot-3, 347-pound mountain of a run stopper could be playing against a 160-pound accountant from Katy. In theory, at least.

“Pissed! Pissed!” Reader calls out, seemingly to no one in particular. “I didn’t start Will Fuller in fantasy!”