Who Should I Start? Tony Pollard or Josh Downs

Saturday, November 29, 2:53 PM

Across 11 games this season, Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard has recorded 690 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 166 touches. The 28-year-old's 4.2 yards-per-touch average is the lowest of his seven-year NFL career. Pollard has been particularly inefficient over his last two games, recording just 67 scrimmage yards on 28 touches. Making matters worse for fantasy managers, Pollard is stuck in a nearly dead-even playing time split with fellow Titans running back Tyjae Spears. In Week 13, Pollard will face the stingy Jacksonville Jaguars run defense. Entering the week, the Jaguars' defense ranks seventh in the NFL in yards per carry allowed (3.9) and has allowed just seven rushing touchdowns on the season. Pollard appears unlikely to see a high volume of touches, nor be particularly efficient with the work he receives against Jacksonville. He profiles as a low-end RB3/flex option for fantasy managers in Week 13.

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.