Who Should I Start? Josh Downs or Jayden Higgins

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.

Monday, December 15, 6:25 PM

Houston Texans rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins was held to just one target for the fifth time this season in Sunday's 40-20 blowout win over the visiting Arizona Cardinals. He caught one pass for a gain of four yards. The 23-year-old has four receptions on six targets for just 38 yards and no touchdowns in the last two games. The last time that Higgins had only one target came on Nov. 2 against the Denver Broncos. Higgins had a streak of five games with at least five targets from Weeks 9 to 14 before seeing just one look from quarterback C.J. Stroud on Sunday. The second-rounder from Iowa State ranks third on the team with 397 receiving yards in 14 games this year, adding four touchdowns. While Higgins has been quiet the last two games, he's a good bet to bounce back with a strong game for fantasy managers in deeper leagues as a flex play in an excellent Week 16 matchup against the last-place Raiders. Higgins is rostered in 43% of Yahoo leagues, so he's widely available.