Will A Rising Role For Josh Downs Leave Things Looking Up In Fantasy Football?

A couple of days ago, I highlighted a handful of players who moved up and down the board in Kendall’s latest rankings update.

One of the fallers was Alec Pierce, and as a byproduct of some of the recent updates around his injury rehab, I’ve turned more attention to Tyler Warren in my early best ball drafts, especially since I’ve already drafted a healthy amount of Josh Downs so far (26%).

But just when Warren started getting my attention, Downs pulled me back in …

Recent camp quotes point to a larger role for Downs in 2026, with him lining up outside and being used all over the formation and giving him “ample opportunities to play on the outside and exploit mismatches against opposing defenses.”

With Downs rocking a 29% targets per route run rate against man coverage last season, that points to a ton of fantasy upside.

This news got Dwain to up his route share to 84% (73% over the last three years) and move him into pole position in the Colts’ pass-catching room, leading the team with a projected 109 targets—was projected for 98 before the news, third behind Pierce (101) and Warren (105).

Downs is the consensus WR37 (+9 versus last week) in our PPR rankings and WR36 in our PPR projections (188.4), yet his ADP on Underdog sits at WR43 (93.3).

He’s sure to steam up boards aggressively over the next couple of weeks, but this is a price I want to continue to get in on while I can. He’s also the epitome of a player who will go later in your home leagues, with his ADP at WR50 in early ESPN drafts.

The price may be going up, but it’s time to get Downs.

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Published Jun 24, 2026, 7:00 AM ET