Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Josh Downs

Saturday, December 20, 8:47 AM

Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk (illness) has a questionable tag for Sunday's matchup against the Raiders after missing practice on Friday. The veteran slot receiver has been in a minimal role lately for the Texans, playing just 16 snaps on offense in Week 15 against the Cardinals and not getting a target. He only had one catch in the last three games combined and has zero or one catch in six of his last seven contests. He's only the No. 83 WR in RotoBaller's Week 16 rankings, so despite a favorable matchup against the Raiders, he isn't a good option even if he does manage to play through his illness. If he's out, Xavier Hutchinson and rookie Jaylin Noel could get a little more work.

Tuesday, December 16, 12:43 PM

In 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers' first NFL game in five years with the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday's 18-16 loss to the hosting Seattle Seahawks, wide receiver Josh Downs caught his lone touchdown pass. Downs played a season-high 72% of the offensive snaps in Week 15 in Rivers' first game replacing Daniel Jones, who is out for the year with a torn Achilles. The 24-year-old wideout was tied for second on the team with five targets, catching three of them for only 13 yards and his fourth touchdown of the year. All in all, it wasn't anything special for fantasy football production, but it was notable that Downs tied Michael Pittman Jr. in targets, with Alec Pierce seeing just one look from Rivers. With Rivers shotputting balls to his receivers, Downs could become a more attractive short-area target over Pierce to close out the season, making him worth a look off the waiver wire as WR depth. Downs is rostered in 43% of Yahoo leagues.