Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Josh Downs

Friday, December 5, 8:08 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco returned in last week's Thanksgiving Day loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday for the first time since Week 8 due to a knee injury. It wasn't a triumphant return for the 26-year-old, as he played a season-low 30% of the snaps and had a season-low three rushing attempts for 16 yards while grabbing both of his targets for an additional 17 yards. Pacheco played well ahead of rookie Brashard Smith, but it's clear that veteran Kareem Hunt has solidified his role as KC's preferred RB, even in goal-line situations. Fantasy managers can hold out hope that Pacheco is more involved in the coming weeks as he puts his knee injury in the rearview mirror, but at no point in 2025 has he looked deserving of a bigger workload. Pacheco has yet to top 60 rushing yards in nine games, and he should be left on benches in Week 14 against the Texans and their No. 1 defense.

Thursday, December 4, 4:07 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (hip, knee) was upgraded to a full participant in practice on Thursday after he was held out on Wednesday with hip and knee injuries. It looks like Downs will be able to play in a crucial divisional game this weekend on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he's become very hard to trust in weekly fantasy football lineups. The 24-year-old former third-rounder in 2023 out of North Carolina has seen a healthy 12 targets the last two games, but he has turned that into only four receptions for 54 yards and no touchdowns while he continues to see fellow wideout Alec Pierce take on a bigger role in the passing attack. Downs is still an integral part of Indy's offense, but he ranks just inside the top 50 receivers in half-PPR points this year on 40 catches, 370 yards, and three touchdowns. He hasn't done much outside of a three-week stretch from Oct. 12 through Nov. 2, where he caught all three of his TDs on the season.