Who Should I Start? Josh Downs or Ricky Pearsall

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.

Monday, August 25, 12:12 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and his chemistry with fourth-year quarterback Brock Purdy have been on full display this offseason, in camp, and during their lone preseason drive together. The 24-year-old is one of San Francisco's only healthy wideouts, and he and Purdy have worked hard to develop a connection ahead of the 2025 season. In the lone series the two shared during their victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, Pearsall hauled in 3-of-4 targets for 42 yards and totaled more than half the 49ers' yardage. With conflicting reports around the health of teammate Jauan Jennings (calf) and Brandon Aiyuk (knee) to potentially miss six games of his own, the University of Florida alum is poised to handle a large workload in the early going of the season. He's a fine selection as a high-upside WR3/4 in PPR formats.