analyst
Daniel Jones Fully Healthy and Undervalued in Drafts
Colts QB Daniel Jones recovers from Achilles injury, remains undervalued with ADP 174.7, potential top 12 fantasy QB
Josh Downs
WR · IND · 25 yrs · exp 3 · North Carolina
Status
- Game status
- Active
- Injury
- Questionable
Keep Trade Cut (SF TEP)
From latest snapshot · trend vs ~7d prior when data allows.
Value
3,458
Rank
#111
Pos rank
#42
7d trend
—
Value history (90d)
One snapshot point per calendar day (shown in your timezone).
Latest: Sep 7, 2026 · 3,458
News
Stories linked to this player — newest first.
analyst
Keenan Allen Set for Preseason Finale Reps
Keenan Allen to play in preseason finale against Detroit Lions
analyst
Keenan Allen Already Working With Colts' First-Team Offense
Keenan Allen is working with the Colts' first-team offense, indicating a possible significant role for him in the team's passing game
general
BREAKING: Colts sign WR Keenan Allen
With Alec Pierce recovering from off-season ankle surgery the Indianapolis wide receiver room was beginning to feel concerning. A single injury to Josh Downs (who recently left practice with what was described as an “upper body injury”) could have been catastrophic to the offense’s chance to repeat the success it had during the first half […]
analyst
Keenan Allen Signs with Colts
The Indianapolis Colts signed veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen to a one-year, $8.32 million contract. He joins Daniel Jones and will compete for targets with Josh Downs and the uncertain Alec Pierce, potentially impacting fantasy values for all three
WR · IND
WR · IND
general
Josh Downs' groin injury is not considered serious
There is some positive news on the injury front for the Colts. Via Stephen Holder of ESPN, head coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Sunday that receiver Josh Downs’ groin injury is not considered serious and Downs should return to the field soon. Downs could even potentially be on the field for the Colts’ joint practice with the Patriots on Tuesday. Downs is a critical piece for Indianapolis’ starting offense, particularly as Alec Pierce continues to recover from offseason ankle surgery. In 2025, Downs caught 58 passes for 566 yards with four touchdowns in 16 games. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract after the Colts selected him in the third round of the 2023 draft
WR · IND
general
Josh Downs' groin injury is not considered serious
There is some positive news on the injury front for the Colts
general
Josh Downs missed Saturday's Colts practice with a groin injury
The Colts have not had Alec Pierce on the practice field at all this summer and they were missing another wideout at practice on Saturday. Josh Downs did not take part in the session and the Colts said that he is dealing with a groin injury. They did not offer further information about the extent of the injury or how long Downs might be out of action. Pierce is on the physically unable to perform list after having ankle surgery this offseason and head coach Shane Steichen said earlier this week that there’s no timetable for his return. Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Anthony Gould worked as the first team wideouts for the Colts on Saturday
WR · IND
WR · IND
general
Josh Downs missed Saturday's Colts practice with a groin injury
The Colts have not had Alec Pierce on the practice field at all this summer and they were missing another wideout at practice on Saturday
WR · IND
analyst
Josh Downs: Nursing groin injury
Downs did not participate in Saturday's training camp practice due to a groin injury, Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update
WR · IND
injury
Josh Downs — Questionable
Sleeper status change for Josh Downs (9500). Before: status=Active, injury_status=—. After: status=Active, injury_status=Questionable
WR · IND
general
Josh Downs looks ready for a bigger role in the Colts offense
Josh Downs is having a strong camp, and his expanded role could become a major piece of the Colts’ offense
analyst
Daniel Jones Looks "Completely Fine Physically"
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones tore his Achilles tendon less than eight months ago, but he has been a full participant since Day 1 of training camp, and Jake Arthur of Colts Roundtable notes that he "looks completely fine physically." The eighth-year veteran has not hesitated to scramble when needed, and even with top receiver Alec Pierce on the PUP list while recovering from offseason ankle surgery, Arthur credits Jones with over a 70% completion rate in 11-on-11 sessions. Before his season-ending injury in Week 14, Jones was the fantasy QB7, but with concerns of his recovery pushing his current ADP all the way down to QB24, he could prove to be one of the biggest steals of 2026 drafts, particularly in superflex formats
WR · IND
transaction
FA: Josh Downs dropped
sleeper-tx-free_agent+4 stories · 30dSource unavailable
Drops: Josh Downs
general
Are the Colts really going to start the season with this group of receivers?
The Colts have a new number one receiver in Alec Pierce, but the rest of the receiver group leaves much to be desired
general
2026 Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Preview: All eyes on Daniel Jones
This time last year, we were debating Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones . Now we’re debating whether or not Jones is worth $50 million per year. Coming off a breakout season, Jones would be a safe bet to stay hot in 2026, but a torn Achilles muddies the waters for his second season in Indianapolis . 2026 Rotoworld Fantasy Football Team Previews Hub Get ready for 2026 fantasy football drafts with in-depth previews for all 32 teams throughout the summer. Rotoworld Staff , Points per game: 27.4 (8th) Total yards per game: 345.9 (9th) Plays per game: 59.9 (19th) Dropbacks per game: 37.9 (19th) Dropback EPA per play: 0.1 (11th) Designed rush attempts per game: 25.4 (20th) Rush EPA per play: 0.05 (1st) Shane Steichen and the Colts entered the 2025 season at a crossroads. The team desperately wanted Richardson to be a thing, but Jones had different plans. He decisively won that camp battle and never looked back. Jones was putting up career efficiency numbers midway through the season and Steichen looked like a lock to make the playoffs for the first time in three seasons as the Colts’ boss. The Colts were at 8-0, but even before Jones suffered his season-ending Achilles injury, cracks in the facade were beginning to form. His efficiency dropped in his final five games and the Colts lost four of those contests. Things got so bad after Jones went down that Phillip Rivers was drawn out of retirement for “one last job” that went as well as it does in the movies. The late-season collapse left Steichen out of the playoffs for the third time in three tries. The Colts bet the house on this iteration of the roster when they brought back Jones and Alec Pierce on pricey deals. It’s now or never for Steichen and his staff. QB: Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard , Anthony Richardson WR: Alec Pierce, Ashton Dulin WR: Josh Downs , Anthony Gould WR: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine , Deion Burks TE: Tyler Warren , Mo Alie-Cox We’ll get to Jones’ midseason slump in a minute, but viewing his Colts debut as a whole, he was wildly impressive. Jones ranked top-10 in both EPA per play and completion percent over expected. Pro Football Focus charted him with top-10 rates of both accurate and accurate plus throws. Add in five rushing touchdowns and Jones was on pace to finish as the QB8 by points per game before exiting Week 14 early. This, however, isn’t the complete story. Jones turned the ball over a staggering five times in Week 9 versus the Steelers . He stemmed the bleeding on bad plays over the next few weeks but still struggled in most efficiency metrics. Four of his five worst games by EPA per play came from Week 9 to Week 14. Jones went from averaging .344 EPA per play over his first eight games to -.03 over his final five. The big shift was his inability to handle pressure. Jones threw six touchdowns and had a 9.8 percent pressure-to-sack rate in his early-season split. Those numbers dropped to one score and a 22 percent P2S when defenses got to him from Week 9 onward. Jones has never been particularly good under pressure, so maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that his numbers came crashing back to earth. Even if that aspect of his game is here to stay, it’s also hard to deny how efficient he was to start the season. All signs point to Jones being ready for Week 1, and fantasy managers are only being asked to pay a QB25 pricetag to find out who the real Daniel Jones is. As long as Jones retains his deep ball, Alec Pierce will be happy. The veteran wideout posted a breakout season in 2025 with 1,007 yards on a paltry 47 grabs. He scored seven times and led the league in yards per reception for the second season in a row. Despite the career year, Pierce’s role as a modest-volume deep threat didn’t change. He simply hit more home runs than the previous season. It was the first 1,000-yard season for a player with an aDOT over 20 since the turn of the century. There have only been five 20+ aDOT seasons accompanied by even 700 yards over that timeframe. Naturall [... truncated ...]
general
2026 NFL WR dynamic duo rankings: Cowboys' Cee Dee Lamb-George Pickens tandem among elite
While the run game has seen a resurgence in both volume and efficiency in recent seasons, the NFL remains, at its heart, a passing league in the modern era. Because it is a passing league, the value of both quarterbacks and pass catchers keeps increasing. We've seen it in recent years, with an explosion in wide receiver salaries, with superstars topping $40 million in average annual value. A superstar wideout can tilt the field in the offense's favor through both his production and the attention he draws, and that has never been more valuable. But what's more valuable than one star wideout? Well, two star wideouts, obviously. With that in mind, we here at CBS Sports decided to take a look at the top wide receiver duos in the NFL. There are plenty of dual-star duos, as well as some buoyed by one mega-star who teams with another quality player to form an elite pairing. Right now, we think there is a clear-cut top two, another tier of three and then another tier of three after that. That gives us a clear-cut top eight, with the rest of the league filling in behind. In the space below, we're going to rank those top eight duos. But before we do, we also wanted to include some honorable mentions. Honorable(-ish) Mentions: Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall ( 49ers ), Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III ( Bears ), DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir ( Bills ), Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin ( Buccaneers ), Alec Pierce and Josh Downs ( Colts ), DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon ( Eagles ), Brian Thomas Jr . and Jakobi Meyers ( Jaguars ), Christian Watson and Jayden Reed ( Packers ), Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson ( Saints ), DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. ( Steelers ) This Seahawks pairing would be higher on the list if we had confidence in which of Shaheed or Cooper Kupp would actually be the No. 2 wide receiver, and that they would be able to consolidate that role while the other would slide further into the background. As it stands, it's more of a target vacuum in JSN, with a couple of guys competing for second-string targets among a host of tight ends and running backs. JSN is coming off one of the better receiver seasons in recent memory, though, so he alone is enough to power the Seahawks into the top 10 of these rankings. And I could easily see them ranking much higher next year, if Shaheed consolidates the role behind him. We've got another new duo on tap here, with both players new to New England this offseason. AJB is one of the small handful of best receivers in football when he is right, but he's also coming off a relatively down season (he averaged his fewest yards per game since 2021) and turned 29 years old June 30, so we don't know if he'll be able to be at his best. Doubs, meanwhile, has always been a bit of a better player than his numbers suggest, because he's always been in such a crowded receiver room. These two guys should give Drake Maye a duo that can really win in the intermediate areas of the field, and Brown, if he rebounds, can win both short and long and create a ton of yardage after the catch. This is yet another new duo, but it could be very exciting. Waddle remains a big-play threat both on deep passes and in terms of creating yardage with the ball in his hands due to his speed. Sutton works best as an isolated X receiver on the outside. The duo gives Bo Nix a pair of wideouts who challenge defenses in markedly different ways, but who can work a lot of the same areas of the field nonetheless. Sean Payton and Davis Webb should have a lot of fun scheming them into position to succeed. Jefferson is coming off what qualifies as a down season for him, with "only" 84 catches for 1,048 yards and two scores. Addison missed time again and caught 42 passes for 610 yards and three touchdowns. They were both hamstrung by the quarterback play of J.J. McCarthy , Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer , though, and we know they have considerably more upside than what they showed last season. Jefferson remains one of the small handful of [... truncated ...]
general
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranks Colts ‘playmaking core’ slightly better than league average
According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, the Indianapolis Colts’ playmaking core; specifically, their top running back, wide receiver, and tight end collectively rank as slightly above league average–coming in at #14 overall : 14. Indianapolis Colts 2025 rank: 16 | 2024 rank: 22 Even after trading Michael Pittman Jr., the Colts sport above-average or better contributors at all three spots we’re considering here. Their playmakers all looked much better in 2025 with better quarterback play, but none made a bigger leap than Alec Pierce , who finally saw steady deep-ball opportunities throughout the season. Pierce averaged 2.2 yards per route run during his breakout campaign, which was good for 14th in the league among wideouts. I still think there’s some potential for Pierce to take another step forward in 2026, while Josh Downs should see more market share after the Pittman trade. He has been efficient out of the slot. There are stars away from wide receiver too. Jonathan Taylor was an Offensive Player of the Year contender for most of the season before fading down the stretch, generating big plays as both a rusher and receiver by shrugging off and running past tackle attempts. And Tyler Warren was a Swiss Army knife for coach Shane Steichen as a rookie, lining up at just about every conceivable spot on the field and creating havoc for opposing linebackers and defensive coordinators. He was on pace to top 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie before the offense broke down after Daniel Jones got hurt. I’m a little concerned that Pierce is more of a really high-end WR2 than a legitimate WR1 in a very good offense, but if the Colts’ wide receivers can hold up their end of the bargain, Taylor and Warren are top-five at their respective spots. Even though star workhorse Jonathan Taylor faded a bit down the 2025 season’s stretch, after initially being a bona fide NFL MVP candidate earlier in the year, he remains a Top 5 running back in the sport overall. Namely, his diminished production later in the season coincided with starting quarterback Daniel Jones’s fractured fibula, and ultimately, with the latter’s season-ending Achilles injury–which derailed the Colts season entirely. Still, Taylor rushed for 1,585 rushing yards and a league-leading 18 rushing touchdowns on his 323 carries–en route to Pro Bowl honors for a consecutive season. Meanwhile, entering a contract year, the 26-year-old Alec Pierce had a breakout season in Indianapolis, cementing himself as one of the league’s elite deep threats and his newfound role as the Colts lead wideout. The Colts rewarded him with what was a historic contract extension earlier this offseason, and the hope is that he’ll only continue to grow and blossom into a more well-rounded wide receiver regarding his overall route-running and receiving skill-set. With Pittman Jr. out of the picture following a trade to Pittsburgh , like Tyler Warren below here, Pierce appears poised for a larger receiving role headed into the 2025 campaign. The hope is that he can continue to be legit #1 wideout, and who knows, maybe even crack the backend of the Top 10 wideouts currently in the NFL league-wide. Lastly, Tyler Warren, the Colts first round pick from 2025, had a very impressive rookie debut, even earning Pro Bowl honors. Specifically, Warren caught 76 receptions for 817 total receiving yards and 4 rushing touchdowns last year, while adding 1 rushing touchdown on the ground. Like Taylor, his play dipped a bit in Jones’s late season absence, but he’s expected to see an even larger role with Pittman Jr.’s departure, as previously denoted. While he’s still young at 24-years-old, Warren could crack into the back half of the Top 5 tight ends in the NFL
analyst
Keenan Allen in Consideration for the Colts?
Indianapolis Colts top wide receiver Alec Pierce (ankle) might not be ready for the start of training camp this summer after having surgery on his left ankle in late March, and the Colts traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. As Pierce continues to rehab, veteran free-agent wideout Keenan Allen could be in consideration for the Colts on the open market, according to James Boyd of The Athletic. The 34-year-old previously played for head coach Shane Steichen when Steichen was the Chargers' offensive coordinator, so there is a clear connection there. The major problem with adding Allen is that both he and Josh Downs are primarily both slot weapons. Allen, a six-time Pro Bowler, is approaching the end of his NFL career, but in his 13th season in 2025 in his return to the Chargers, he had a respectable 81 receptions for 777 yards and four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (three starts). If/when Allen lands with another NFL team, he'll be competing for a WR3 role most likely, which might give him fleeting deep-league value in PPR formats
QB · IND
WR · IND
general
Reviewing the Chris Ballard era: The 2023 draft class
With the 2017 through 2022 classes already reviewed, the next stop in the Chris Ballard draft review series is 2023. This one is difficult to evaluate because it is still fairly recent, but enough time has passed to start making some firm judgments. Unfortunately for the Colts, most of those judgments are not flattering. This class is defined by Anthony Richardson, and when the fourth overall pick fails to become the franchise quarterback, the entire draft takes a major hit. The Colts also missed badly on Julius Brents , another premium pick in the top 50. That is a brutal start to any class. Josh Downs and Jaylon Jones keep this from becoming a complete disaster. Downs has become a tremendous slot receiver and one of the best picks of the Ballard era relative to where he was taken. Jones has given the Colts strong seventh-round return as a depth corner and spot starter. Adebawore has also developed into a useful rotational piece. But when the first two picks are misses, especially at quarterback and cornerback, there is only so much the rest of the class can do to save the grade. Richardson is the most complicated pick to grade, but the final answer is still pretty clear. For a fourth overall pick, he has been a bust. There is no other way about it. The occasional flashes keep him from being an F. There were moments where the athletic tools looked special, and you could see why the Colts took the swing. His size, arm strength and mobility created plays that very few quarterbacks can make. But those moments were not enough. His play on the field has mostly been poor. The accuracy has not been consistent. The processing and decision-making have not developed enough. He has struggled to make reads, struggled to stay healthy, and has not shown the maturity or command needed from a franchise quarterback. You can make excuses for the development plan, the injuries, the supporting cast, or the coaching. Some of those excuses may even be fair, but the bottom line is that Richardson has not become a quarterback the Colts can trust. When you take someone fourth overall, the expectation is franchise-altering impact. Richardson did not provide that or even come close to providing that. Grade: D Brents was another major miss. The Colts bet on size and athleticism, which has been a recurring theme with Ballard. Brents had the long frame and physical traits teams like in outside cornerbacks, but the pick never came close to working out. Injuries crushed his time in Indianapolis. He appeared in only 11 games, which is a terrible return for a top-50 pick. When he was on the field, the play was okay in flashes, but nowhere close to good enough to justify the draft slot. Availability is a big part of the evaluation. Brents simply was not available enough to help the team, and when he did play, the impact was limited. For a second-round pick, this was a clear failure. Grade: F Downs saves this draft from completely falling apart. He has become a tremendous slot receiver, and I think he can be more than just that. Downs runs routes at a high level, separates with quickness, works efficiently in and out of breaks, and has become a reliable third-down option. He gives the offense consistency, timing and trust. He is the type of player quarterbacks love because he gets open when the offense needs it most. The Colts found an excellent receiver in the third round, and that is one of the better picks from this entire stretch of Ballard drafts. Downs has already become a key offensive piece and still has room to grow. If Richardson and Brents had worked out, Downs would be viewed as the finishing touch to a strong class. Instead, he is the player keeping the class from being ugly. Grade: A- Freeland has been a backup swing tackle, but the results have not been very encouraging. He has not been asked to do a ton, which is probably for the best. When he has been on the field, the play has been poor. He does not consistently show th [... truncated ...]
Data comes from cached Sleeper and KTC snapshots. Values update when the sync jobs run.