Josh Downs Traded to Chiefs: Fantasy Football Fallout For Kansas City, Tyler Warren, Daniel Jones

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs got his wish on Tuesday, when the team traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs. Downs requested a trade on Oct. 28, shortly after the team fired GM Chris Ballard and proceeded to trade away veterans Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner.

Downs joins the Chiefs, shoring up a thin WR room led by Rashee Rice, where he could immediately push for snaps as the WR2 and compete with disappointing third-year wideout Xavier Worthy for targets.

Downs leaves behind a 19% target share that will be split mostly among de facto WR1 Laquon Treadwell and tight end Tyler Warren.

Here's what the Josh Downs trade means for his fantasy value and how it affects the remaining Colts and Downs' new teammates in Kansas City.

Josh Downs Traded To Chiefs - The Details

The Colts only managed to coax a fourth- and fifth-round pick out of the Chiefs for Downs' services, in part because the former third-round pick is in the final year of his rookie contract.

The 5-foot-9, 171-pound receiver flashed separation skills in somewhat limited roles over the years, but he was taken off the field too often in two-receiver sets, limiting his volume. Still, Downs' efficiency and spike weeks when other receivers missed time made him a 2026 fantasy target in redraft and dynasty leagues alike.

Unfortunately, the breakout didn't come to fruition in Indianapolis, whose middling offense has relied much more on Taylor and the run game, while Daniel Jones and the passing game have struggled.

Could the Downs breakout still be in the cards now that he's paired with Patrick Mahomes?

Fantasy Football Fallout for Josh Downs

Downs did finally become a full-time player this year, finishing his Colts tenure with a career-high 90% route rate. But even with Alec Pierce missing considerable time and only the 34-year-old Keenan Allen to compete with for wide receiver targets, the volume just didn't arrive.

Downs ran more routes, but his efficiency took a massive hit, with his targets per route run falling from 22% in 2025 to 17% this season. Downs' aDOT jumped two yards from 8.4 to 10.4, and his air-yards share jumped from 17% to 24%. And yet his fantasy production remained flat:

2025: 8.5 PPR points per game (WR57)
2026: 8.7 PPR points per game (WR56)

Moving from a Daniel Jones-led offense to Patrick Mahomes? This is what dreams are made of.

Fantasy Football Fallout From The Josh Downs Trade

Tyler Warren | TE

Potentially the biggest winner of Downs moving on, Warren should feast in the short and intermediate areas—where Downs was at his best before this season's deeper route tree slowed him down.

Warren returned in Week 8 after missing two games with a groin injury. He saw a more limited snap share than usual but should be ramped up quickly. He's a great fantasy trade target and a high-end TE1 for the rest of the season.

Daniel Jones | QB

Things have gone from bad to worse quickly for Jones, who began the 2026 season hot before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. Jones is now down an All-Pro guard in Nelson, and his top two WRs in Downs and Allen.

Jone was playing poorly with all of these guys and has an uphill battle to stick on the Colts' roster in 2027. For fantasy purposes, he's not worth rostering in redraft, and his dynasty value is plummeting.