Josh Downs - Fantasy Points Outlook

Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. returned from missing Week 16 with a shoulder injury to regain control of the team's receiving in Sunday's win over the Raiders. Pittman posted an unimpressive 5-46 receiving line on 7 targets. But he drew a target on 30.4% of the team's pass attempts and claimed 33.3% of Colts completions. WR Alec Pierce took his lone catch for a 58-yard TD to lead the team in receiving yards. Rookie WR Josh Downs followed with 53 yards on just 2 receptions. QB Gardner Minshew attempted just 23 passes, completing 15 for 224 yards on a day that found Indy running on more than half of its offensive plays. Pittman looks like the only startable Colts pass-catcher for most fantasy formats in Week 18. Indy faces Houston, which allowed Pittman 8 receptions back in Week 2. Pittman also caught 8+ passes in six straight full outings before the Week 15 game he left early.

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Colts rookie WR Josh Downs drew a team-high 9 targets in Sunday's loss to the Falcons, 24.3% of the team total. WR Michael Pittman's absence obviously helped. Downs caught six (team high) but managed just 39 yards (6.5 per catch). That makes seven straight games of 43 yards or less for Downs. He's not especially attractive for a Week 17 date with the Raiders, whether Pittman's back or not.

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Colts WR Michael Pittman has been downgraded to out for Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. Pittman cleared concussion protocol on Friday but was experiencing symptoms again when the team arrived in Atlanta, according to ESPN's Stephen Holder. We'll track Pittman's status this coming week and see if he can make it back for next Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. His absence leaves Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, and D.J. Montgomery as Indianapolis' top three WRs against the Falcons.

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Colts WR Josh Downs tied for the team lead with 13 targets in Sunday's win over the Bucs. He caught just five of them for 43 yards. QB Gardner Minshew wasn't very good in this one and had multiple misfires and miscommunications with Downs. One of them resulted in a Carlton Davis INT. It was a frustrating outing from Downs -- but encouraging for his going-forward outlook. The rookie has now averaged 8.4 targets per game over his last five healthy outings with Minshew. Downs gets three straight plus matchups the next three weeks against the Titans, Bengals, and Steelers.

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