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Has Michael Pittman Jr. lost his WR1 role to Josh Downs?

Has Michael Pittman Jr. lost his WR1 role to Josh Downs?

DraftKings Fantasy Advice DFS NFL Rail

Published:

By: Alex Hunter

Josh Downs has officially surpassed Michael Pittman Jr. as the Colts’ No. 1 receiver. In Week 8, Downs caught four of his nine targets for 109 yards and a touchdown vs. the Texans, resulting in a season-high 25.2 FPTS. Meanwhile, Pittman only caught one of his six targets for 16 yards and 2.6 FPTS.

Overall, it wasn’t a surprise to see Downs outperform Pittman, as this has been the case for most of the season.

This season, Downs is producing 0.35 FPTS per snap, which is just over double the average of Pittman at 0.17. The two receivers have played six games together this season and across those tilts, Downs is leading all of the Colts’ skill players with 14.9 FPTS per game, while Pittman is amassing 11.2 FPTS per game. Furthermore, Downs has outscored Pittman in four of these six contests.

Downs outproducing Pittman fantasy-wise is a direct product of the former seeing better usage than the latter. While Pittman has run more routes, Downs is leading the team with a 26.1% target share since his debut in Week 3, while Pittman has ranked second at 21.1%. Additionally, Downs has been more efficient with his targets, catching 68.1% of the passes thrown his direction, while Pittman has struggled with a career-low 54.7% catch rate.

Downs ranks 11th among receivers in FPTS since he made his season debut in Week 3 and he is undoubtedly the top receiver to own from the Colts for fantasy football.

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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

Alex Hunter
Alex Hunter is an avid DFS player and sports handicapper, who has been a proud member of the DraftKings Network team since 2020. He is a data-driven analyst, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications at Worcester State University and has been in the sports content business for nearly a decade, covering the NBA, NFL and PGA TOUR. Alex is a diehard Boston Celtics fan, who loves to be on the golf course when he isn’t grinding lineups or producing content. For all of Alex’s work or if you need any lineup advice, be sure to follow him @Hunta512 on X.
Disclaimer

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.