The Kansas City Chiefs lost their first game of the season on Sunday Night Football in Seattle, and the ability of the Seahawks defense to hold Patrick Mahomes and company to just 213 total yards and three points exposed a weakness at wide receiver everyone knew existed, but which the Chiefs had covered up expertly through six weeks.
As a result, NFL insiders were buzzing about Kansas City making calls across the league in an effort to beef up a crucial position the team failed to address during the offseason.
“Wide receiver is going to be a position to watch, for sure, over the next two weeks leading up to that November 10 trade deadline,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said on Monday, October 26. “Even Indianapolis — Josh Downs could be a name to watch because you look at the Kansas City Chiefs, they are calling around at least to see what they could potentially add.”
Downs has 26 catches for 307 yards across seven games played this season. He has tallied 224 receptions for 2,447 yards and 11 TDs over his 54-game NFL career (33 starts).
Chiefs Expect Wide Receiver Rashee Rice Back Sooner Than Later
Fowler added that the Chiefs expect Rashee Rice to return, though he didn’t put a specific timeline on those expectations. Rice has been out three weeks with a hamstring injury and is an excellent playmaker in space who specializes in explosive playmaking via yards after the catch.
Without Rice, and absent deep threat Tyquan Thornton for several more months following his ankle dislocation against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4, the Chiefs are heavily reliant on an aging Travis Kelce at tight end and former first-round pick Xavier Worthy who has battled injury concerns and drop issues, the latter of which proved a problem against the Seahawks on Sunday.
“You saw it last night: Patrick Mahomes trying to throw the ball when the Seattle defense was stopping the run, Kenneth Walker wasn’t getting going, they didn’t have the play action,” Fowler continued. “It’s a bit of a struggle with their passing game. Travis Kelce in his mid-30s, still productive but not getting open like he once was. So they could look to add a piece in the next few weeks just because of all the injuries they’ve had at that position.”
Josh Downs Could Be More Than 1-Year Rental for Chiefs
Downs isn’t the splashiest name on the market, but the Colts (2-5) profile as sellers ahead of the deadline after firing longtime general manager Chris Ballard one week ago.
In the fourth and final season of his rookie contract, Downs is playing on a $5.5 million deal that carries a base salary of $3.9 million this season. Were the Chiefs to add Downs today, they would assume the prorated amounted of roughly $2.4 million remaining on Downs’ agreement over the final 11 weeks of the campaign.
Downs, a third-round pick playing this season at 25 years old, is primarily a slot receiver and has a good amount of overlap with Rice in their respective games. Because Downs lacks size at just five-feet, nine-inches tall and 171 pounds, he relies heavily on his quickness to make plays in space.
Given that, there might be other players who would make more sense for the Chiefs. Jauan Jennings of the Minnesota Vikings comes to mind, given his size (6’3″, 212 pounds) and ability to function as a third-down/red-zone target while also functioning as an elite blocker from the WR position. Keenan Allen of the Colts could also be a bigger option who can play more on the outside.
But Downs makes plenty of sense while Rice is out, and he could also function as a longterm replacement for Rice if Kansas City decides not to pay the volatile wideout who has battled injury problems and off-field character concerns since joining the league in 2023.
Chiefs Linked to Trade for Speedy $5.5 Million WR, Rashee Rice Successor