Former Roman star Fuller hopes to dazzle at combine

INDIANAPOLIS - Will Fuller will run the 40-yard dash at the combine on Saturday, when the Notre Dame receiver and Roman Catholic alum is expected to have one of the draft's best times.

"I'm shooting for a mid-4.3, something around a 4.35 would be real good for me, I believe," Fuller said.

Fuller is considered perhaps the best deep threat in the draft, but he also wants to prove his route-running and catching ability during the position drills.

"That's a big thing that I've been working on is attacking the ball and not letting it eat me up," Fuller said.

He finished with 62 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and Fuller felt that was enough to enter his name in the draft even with one year of eligibility. Fuller originally said he would stay for his final season, but he changed his mind at the end of the year.

"The media really got me that day," Fuller said. "I had no idea that was going to be the question asked that day. I just felt like I said the right thing and not the wrong thing. . . . But I still feel like I made the right decision."

Fuller is one of the top local prospects in the draft. He takes pride in his hometown, noting that he has brought his dialect to South Bend, Ind., where he has introduced the word "jawn." On the field, Fuller thinks he's a Philadelphia player.

"It's a demeanor, the way you talk, the way you are on the field," Fuller said. "I think only Philly people understand."

Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey lauded Eagles coach Doug Pederson, who was the Chiefs' offensive coordinator for the last three seasons. Dorsey watched Pederson develop from first-time coordinator to head-coaching candidate.

"Any time you can take a coach and you develop your skills as a high school coach, and then you work up the ranks and all of a sudden, you're lucky enough to get into pro football, I think it's always important that, who you get with in this whole process, and he was lucky enough to get with Andy Reid," Dorsey said. "He began to see how to process and how to build certain things and how to build a team. The play-calling component of it, I think Doug will do a fabulous job. What I've seen with Doug is, he's built a really good staff. I love Doug, I can't wait to see what he does. I really think he'll do a wonderful job."

Andy Reid is not at the combine because of knee replacement surgery. The Chiefs have a system for Reid to watch the meetings with prospects. . . .The Eagles will carry over $7.255 million in salary-cap space from last season, the NFLPA announced Thursday. That will be added to the space they have in 2016, which will be determined when the salary cap is finalized.