Downs caught all five of his targets for 84 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 28-27 win over the Jets. Downs continued to work as the top option in Indianapolis' passing game as the Colts went back to Anthony Richardson under center. The second-year wideout led the Colts in receiving yards and scored the team's only touchdown through the air while Richardson provided another two with his legs. Downs has reached 60 receiving yards in six of his last seven games and has a nice opportunity to keep rolling in Week 12 against a Lions defense that has given up plenty of yardage to wide receivers.
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Status
ACTIVELatest Josh Downs news
Team
Indianapolis Colts
Birthdate
8/12/2001 (23)
Status
Active
HT/WT
5'9", 171 lbs
Draft Info
2023: Rd 3; Pk (IND)
Birthplace
Suwanee, GA, USA
Position
WR
College
North Carolina
Experience
2 seasons
Career History
Indianapolis Colts
2023-Present
(2 seasons)
Downs caught all five of his targets for 84 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 28-27 win over the Jets. Downs continued to work as the top option in Indianapolis' passing game as the Colts went back to Anthony Richardson under center. The second-year wideout led the Colts in receiving yards and scored the team's only touchdown through the air while Richardson provided another two with his legs. Downs has reached 60 receiving yards in six of his last seven games and has a nice opportunity to keep rolling in Week 12 against a Lions defense that has given up plenty of yardage to wide receivers.
Downs secured seven of 10 targets for 72 yards in the Colts' 30-20 loss to the Bills on Sunday. He also recovered a fumble. It was a mixed bag of a day for Downs, who led the Colts in receptions and targets while checking in second in receiving yards. The second-year wideout also recovered an Adonai Mitchell fumble to keep the ball for the Colts, but he dropped a would-be touchdown late in the first quarter that would have erased a 10-3 deficit. Downs does have much better chemistry with Joe Flacco than with Anthony Richardson at the moment, but it remains to be seen if the latter will be getting another shot at the starting job in the near future.
Downs caught six of nine targets for 60 yards in Sunday's 21-13 loss to the Vikings. Downs easily led the Colts in targets, catches and receiving yards, with no teammate posting more than five targets. He has shown strong chemistry with quarterback Joe Flacco, who was inserted as the starter over the benched Anthony Richardson against Minnesota. Downs has 22 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown across Flacco's three starts this season. Indianapolis' passing game will face a tough Week 10 test at home against the Bills.
Downs (toe) was a full practice participant Thursday. Downs' return to a full practice likely confirms that his absence from Wednesday's session was maintenance-related. The second-year receiver shouldn't face any limitations Sunday at Minnesota, and his fantasy outlook moving forward figures to be trending upward with the Colts electing to move forward with Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback rather than Anthony Richardson. While Flacco was under center for most of the Colts' three games from Weeks 4 through 6, Downs produced a 24-217-2 receiving line on 30 targets.
Downs (toe) returned to practice Thursday, James Boyd of The Athletic reports. Along with receiver Michael Pittman (back), Downs continues to have his practice reps managed, but his return to Thursday's session has him on track to suit up Sunday against the Vikings. So long as Downs upgrades to full practice participation Thursday and/or Friday, he should approach the Week 9 game without a designation.
Downs (toe) didn't practice Wednesday. The same can be said for Michael Pittman (back), but given that neither player was reported to have experienced any setbacks during Week 8 action, their listed absence for the fourth consecutive Wednesday is presumably a case of workload management. In this past Sunday's 23-20 loss to Texans, Downs logged a 70 percent snap share while putting up a 4/109/1 receiving line on nine targets. As long as the wideout is able to fully practice by Friday, he figures to approach this weekend's game against the Vikings minus an injury designation, just as he did prior to facing Houston.
Downs secured four of nine targets for 109 yards and a touchdown in the Colts' 23-20 loss to the Texans on Sunday. He also recorded 13 rushing yards and returned two punts for 12 yards. Downs led the Colts with a season-high receiving yardage total, and he was the only Indianapolis pass catcher to record more than 16 yards during another highly inefficient performance by Anthony Richardson. Richardson recorded his third touchdown of the season on a dynamic 69-yard catch late in the first quarter, and he had a 25-yard grab in the final period that was initially ruled a touchdown before being overturned on replay. Downs now has at least 66 receiving yards in five of the last six games, affording him plenty of momentum heading into a tough road matchup against the Vikings next Sunday night.
Downs (groin/toe) practiced fully Thursday. Downs and Michael Pittman (back) were deemed non-participants Wednesday, but both players practiced fully a day later, which sets the stage for the duo to be available alongside fellow WR Alec Pierce on Sunday against the Texans. In five games to date overall, Downs has compiled a 28-242-2 line on 38 targets, though in QB Anthony Richardson's return to action in the Colts' Week 7 win over the Dolphins, the 2023 third-rounder caught just one of his three targets for three yards. An uptick in Downs' production this weekend is plausible, though it remains to be seen if he'll be able to match the pace he put up while Joe Flacco worked as the team's signal caller.
Downs (groin/toe) participated in practice Thursday, James Boyd of The Athletic reports. Both Downs and Michael Pittman (back) were deemed non-participants Wednesday, but both were back for Thursday's session, which bodes well for their availability for Sunday's game against the Texans. The Colts' upcoming injury report will reveal Downs' official participation level Thursday.