Josh Downs fantasy football insight from Hayden Winks - PPR Rankings

Downs had an excellent 2024 season before a forgettable one last year, when he finished as the WR65. His yards per route in 3-WR sets dipped from 2.20 to 1.38. Downs is the WR27 in yards per route in 3-WR sets across the two seasons, so there's a talent/efficiency case to be made versus his WR43 price tag on Underdog. The question is total routes, not efficiency. Over the past two seasons, Downs is catching less than 10 passes in non-3-WR sets. That's simply not enough to be an every-week factor in fantasy football in this balanced Colts offense. 2026 is a new year, however, and his case for jumping into 2-WR sets becomes obvious without Michael Pittman Jr. involved. It's Downs versus Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for those valuable 2-WR sets. In mini camp and OTAs, Colts reporters have hinted that it's Downs in 2-WR sets. That will become more crystal clear in training camp and the preseason games, but it's something I'm penciling in for now. That's a very big deal. The Colts averaged 8.2 routes in 12-personnel last year, so that could be another 2ish targets and 15ish yards per game. That'd put him in the 50s, which is typical of a full PPR flex option during the bye weeks. There's also the uncertainty with Alec Pierce's rehabbing ankle, which needed surgery in the middle of the offseason. If Pierce also misses time or isn't as effective, then Downs' pathway is staring us in the face.