Who Should I Start? George Pickens or Josh Downs

Tuesday, August 5, 9:16 PM

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes that it's a good sign of Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens in head coach Brian Schottenheimer's offense that the coaches have been able to "move him around to different receiver spots after he was exclusively an X receiver (split end) in Pittsburgh." Pickens and CeeDee Lamb worked out together in Florida in the offseason, and new receivers coach Junior Adams "has had the two working off each other constantly to try and build culture in his room." Things didn't end well for Pickens with the Steelers, but the early signs going into his first year in Dallas are "pretty good." The 24-year-old former second-rounder has had at least 801 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons. He's going to take a back seat to Lamb in this offense, but in what should be a pass-happy scheme, Pickens has lots of upside as a WR3/flex in fantasy in his new home.

Monday, August 25, 8:13 PM

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen expects wide receiver Josh Downs (hamstring) to be back on the practice field next week before the Week 1 regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 7. Downs suffered a hamstring injury on Aug. 14 and has been held out of practice since, but it sounds like he's improving and should be ready for the start of the regular season in early September. The 24-year-old former third-rounder in 2023 out of North Carolina took a step forward in his second year in Indy in 2024 with 72 catches for 803 yards and five touchdowns on 107 targets over 14 games (eight starts). Downs has a limited fantasy ceiling because of his mediocre athleticism, but Daniel Jones winning the starting QB job was good for his value as a WR4/flex flier later in fantasy drafts. He'll be in starting three-wide sets with Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce.