Who Should I Start? Amon-Ra St. Brown or Josh Downs

Monday, January 6, 12:59 AM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown caught six of his seven targets for 77 yards during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Minnesota Vikings. St. Brown had been riding a three-game touchdown streak, so fantasy managers will be understandably disappointed he didn't find the end zone on Sunday night despite leading the Lions in receiving yards. He finished the regular season as the overall WR3 in PPR leagues, and he was just 1.3 points behind the No. 2 wide receiver, Justin Jefferson. All in all, it was an impressive year for the 25-year-old, who totaled double-digit touchdowns for the second year in a row and set a career-high for number of visits to the end zone. Even with the Lions' offense placing attention on Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery, fantasy managers were able to enjoy the fact that St. Brown carved out an enormous role for himself and delivered a terrific season once again, playing in all 17 games. He should be a mid-first-round pick in 2025 fantasy drafts, and managers could absolutely justify making him the second wide receiver off the board after Ja'Marr Chase.

Sunday, January 5, 8:52 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs caught 10 of his 13 targets for 94 yards during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts' passing attack has seen a significant boost ever since quarterback Joe Flacco took over for the injured Anthony Richardson (back), but Downs truly took his productivity to the next level during Sunday's season finale. He finishes the 2024 campaign with 72 catches, 803 yards, and five touchdowns. Each of these three marks represented season-highs, topping the totals he delivered as a rookie last year. Downs has firmly established himself as an appealing 1B option with the Colts, pairing nicely alongside their 1A receiver, Michael Pittman Jr. The UNC product will rank as a high-end WR3 when 2025 fantasy football drafts kick off next summer, and he has even greater appeal in dynasty leagues.