Who Should I Start? Terry McLaurin or Josh Downs

Thursday, December 4, 12:37 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been a disappointment for fantasy managers in 2025 while playing in just five games due to a nagging quad injury. The 30-year-old wideout aggravated his quad injury back in Week 8 and finally made his return in Sunday night's overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. Despite a tough matchup with last year's Defensive Player of the Year, cornerback Patrick Surtain, McLaurin had his best game of the season, catching seven of his 14 targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. He did it while playing just over half of the offensive snaps. It also came with backup quarterback Marcus Mariota running the offense. Three of his seven grabs went for over 15 yards, signaling that Scary Terry might be back when it matters the most in fantasy. McLaurin heads into another tough matchup on the road against the Vikings in Week 14 -- they've allowed the second-fewest half-PPR points to WRs this year -- but he has WR2 upside as Washington's clear WR1.

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.