Who Should I Start? Josh Downs or Dontayvion Wicks

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.

Monday, December 8, 12:44 PM

ESPN's Rob Demovsky says that both Green Bay Packers wide receivers Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) and Matthew Golden (wrist) were limited due to their injuries in the Week 14 win over the Chicago Bears, allowing Bo Melton to move into the No. 4 receiver spot. Melton caught a big 45-yard touchdown pass on his only reception of the day. Wicks only played 11% of the offensive snaps on Sunday, with Golden playing 9% of the snaps. Wicks wasn't targeted at all, while Golden was unable to secure his lone target on the day at Lambeau Field. Both Wicks and Golden figure to be on the field more if they can put their respective injuries behind them, but Green Bay's receiving corps is now as healthy as it has been all year with the return of Jayden Reed. Wicks' six-catch, 94-yard, two-touchdown performance on Thanksgiving will most likely end up being an outlier performance in 2025.