Who Should I Start? Cooper Kupp or Josh Downs

Thursday, August 14, 9:25 PM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp has "plenty left in the tank" and has shown the ability to "get open against (star cornerback) Devon Witherspoon" in training camp practices, according to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. Kupp is entering his first year in Seattle after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Rams. The 32-year-old recorded 67 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games for Los Angeles in 2024. Seattle signed Kupp to complement third-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is coming off a breakout season. Kupp has had major struggles staying healthy (18 missed games over the last three years), but he can still be productive in fantasy when he's on the field. He profiles as a WR4 in PPR-scoring and could outperform that rank on a per-game basis.

Thursday, August 14, 5:05 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (hamstring) left Thursday's training camp practice early due to a left-hamstring injury, according to Stephen Holder of ESPN. Downs injured his hamstring on a play and immediately went to the trainers while walking off the field under his own power. As Holder says, it's definitely a situation worth monitoring after he became a bigger part of Indy's offense in 2024 with a 72-803-5 line on 107 targets in 14 games (eight starts) in his second year in the NFL. For now, we'll consider Downs day-to-day until we know more about the severity of his injury. The Colts' quarterback situation makes all of their receiving targets less than ideal for fantasy purposes, but Downs is worth a look as a WR4/5 for WR depth in fantasy if he's healthy. If Downs' hamstring injury lingers, it will benefit Adonai Mitchell and Alec Pierce (groin) the most.