{"id":219701,"date":"2025-02-27T11:00:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T16:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=219701"},"modified":"2025-02-27T08:37:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T13:37:55","slug":"josh-downs-dynasty-outlook-for-colts-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/27\/josh-downs-dynasty-outlook-for-colts-receiver\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh Downs: Dynasty Outlook for Colts Receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Many promising rookies have explosions in production in year two. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was not the case for Josh Downs, but the progression is evident. Despite several quarterback changes, he firmly established himself in the Indianapolis <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">wide<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> receiver room, making Josh Downs one of the most intriguing players in dynasty fantasy football leagues.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Josh Downs: Dynasty Outlook for Colts Receiver<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Current Production<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Downs was coming off a solid rookie season in 2023. He played in every game and amassed nearly 800 yards on just short of 100 targets. This season, his numbers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/player\/stats\/_\/id\/4688813\/josh-downs\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">increased across the board<\/a>, even though he missed three games and dealt with niggling injuries. He finished as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fantasypros.com\/nfl\/reports\/leaders\/ppr-wr.php?year=2024&amp;start=1&amp;end=18\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WR32 in fantasy points per game<\/a>, above the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/09\/13\/tyreek-hill-fantasy-football-outlook-after-tua-tagovailoa-injury\/\" target=\"_self\">Tyreek Hill<\/a> and DK Metcalf, making him a WR3 on most rosters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">More impressively, Downs had five games of at least 19 fantasy points. He also produced regardless of quarterback, as his splits were very similar, no matter if it was Joe Flacco or <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/02\/four-things-learned-from-anthony-richardsons-2024-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Anthony Richardson<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> throwing him the football. Downs had a few mediocre games, but for the most part, he consistently scored at least 10 fantasy points each game. He also had the volume that is so essential in fantasy, having garnered nine or more targets in seven of 14 games.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Downs Dynasty Price<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/keeptradecut.com\/dynasty-rankings\/players\/josh-downs-1440\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">KeepTradeCut<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> lists Downs as the WR40 in dynasty leagues, but he peaked as high as the WR27 in November. Downs is ranked above teammate Michael Pittman Jr., <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">as he<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> is much younger and has usurped him in the pecking order. He is only 23, so his price and ranking will fluctuate, but an early-mid second-round pick is roughly his value <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">at the moment<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Downs is a smaller receiver who lines up a lot in the slot, and it&#8217;s rare to see those players become <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/23\/fantasy-football-top-10-dynasty-wide-receivers-entering-2025\/\" target=\"_self\">legit top 10 fantasy receivers.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Downs Dynasty Outlook<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Colts quarterback situation is unclear. They<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/29\/colts-bench-franchise-qb-in-shocking-but-necessary-move\/\" target=\"_self\"> benched Anthony Richardson<\/a> but quickly brought him back after two games. They then stuck by Richardson until his injury at the end of the season. However, GM Chris Ballard stated that <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/44015259\/colts-plan-hold-open-competition-quarterback-anthony-richardson-determined-offseason-acquisition\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">he intends to bring in competition<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> for the starting job. Downs&#8217; dynasty outlook will<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/19\/can-anthony-richardson-make-a-giant-year-3-leap-with-the-colts\/\" target=\"_self\"> largely depend on Richardson&#8217;s progression<\/a>, assuming he remains the starter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The good news for Downs is that his skill set is diverse. He doesn&#8217;t have elite speed, but he is quick off the line, a great route runner, and works well in short-yardage situations. He can work well with any quarterback, but if Downs is to reach his potential with the Colts, Richardson will have to become a more consistent thrower. The Colts have also been rumored to<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/12\/the-best-options-for-the-colts-in-first-round-of-2025-nfl-draft\/\" target=\"_self\"> draft a pass catching tight end,<\/a> which could take away some of Downs&#8217; targets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What to Do With Josh Downs<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">in Dynasty Leagues<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Dynasty owners should hold on to Downs for the time being. He showed improvement <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">even<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> while fighting injuries and is a candidate to break out even further in 2025. It&#8217;s also better to wait and see what happens at quarterback for the Colts before deciding on Downs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Grace Hollars &#8211; Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many promising rookies have explosions in production in year two. This was not the case for Josh Downs, but the progression is evident. Despite several quarterback changes, he firmly established himself in the Indianapolis wide receiver room, making Josh Downs one of the most intriguing players in dynasty fantasy football leagues. Josh Downs: Dynasty Outlook [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5318,"featured_media":219719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32631,12],"tags":[9504,7800,9723],"class_list":["post-219701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dynasty","category-colts","tag-dynasty-fantasy-football","tag-indianapolis-colts-news","tag-josh-downs"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219701"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219720,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219701\/revisions\/219720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}