The Indianapolis Colts will hit the road to take on the Carolina Panthers in Week 9 of the NFL season. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew remains under center and may be missing one of his best pass-catchers in this game. Rookie wide receiver Josh Downs is listed as questionable for the game and is dealing with a knee injury.
#Colts WR Josh Downs has a knee injury and is questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Panthers.
Downs has played as one of the top rookies in the NFL with 40 catches for 473 yards and 2 TDs on the season. pic.twitter.com/QwifJRymci— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 3, 2023
Fantasy football implications for Week 9
Downs is among the best rookie wide receivers in 2023. He has 473 yards and two touchdowns on 40 receptions through eight games. Downs brought in seven of his nine targets for 72 yards in Indy’s Week 8 loss to the New Orleans Saints. With the target share that he is seeing, Downs should be considered start-worthy in 12-team leagues or higher. He is a fringe flex play in 10-team leagues, but it would take a good matchup.
If Downs is inactive, Alec Pierce will likely see the uptick in work behind starting wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. The latter would be startable in 10-team leagues or larger, but you wouldn’t want to start Pierce unless your league has 14 teams in it or if you just want a DFS dart throw.