Who Should I Start? Trey McBride or Josh Downs

Sunday, October 19, 9:53 PM

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride has proven over the last two games that he doesn't need starting quarterback Kyler Murray (foot) to produce for his fantasy managers. In fact, he's been better in Weeks 6 and 7 while working with veteran backup Jacoby Brissett. In the 27-23 loss to the visiting Green Bay Packers on Sunday, McBride caught a season-high 10 passes on 13 targets for 74 yards and two touchdowns as Arizona's leading receiver. The 25-year-old tight end also went off while working with Brissett in last week's loss to the Indianapolis Colts, catching eight of 11 targets for 72 yards and a touchdown. So McBride now has 18 receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 24 targets and three touchdowns with Murray sidelined the last two games. Fantasy managers might be bummed that Murray could be returning following Arizona's Week 8 bye, but McBride is without a doubt a set-and-forget TE1 in fantasy football.

Thursday, October 30, 1:23 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (hip) appears to be returning to practice on Thursday after he did not practice on Wednesday due to a hip injury. Downs missed the Week 7 game due to a concussion but returned in Sunday's win over the Tennessee Titans, playing 64% of the offensive snaps while catching all three of his targets for 39 yards and a touchdown, his second in as many games. The 24-year-old is now dealing with a hip injury as the team prepares to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9, but his return to practice on Thursday means he's trending in the right direction. Downs has been the team's WR2 in healthy in a much-improved offense led by MVP candidate Daniel Jones in 2025. If Downs gets cleared to play in Pittsburgh this Sunday, he'll certainly have WR3 upside against a Steelers secondary that has not performed up to expectations this year.