Josh Downs Dynasty Rookie Profile
Table of Contents
Josh Downs Dynasty Rookie Profile: High School
Josh Downs attended North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia. During high school, the wide receiver had 187 receptions for 3,019 yards and 32 touchdowns and was selected to play in the 2020 All-American Bowl. Downs a 4-star recruit, committed to the University of North Carolina to play college football upon completing his high school career.
Josh Downs Dynasty Rookie Profile: College
In his three seasons at North Carolina, Downs appeared in a total of 28 games for the Tar Heels. In his first season at UNC, Downs appeared in four games. He had seven receptions for 119 yards and three touchdowns. In 2021 with Dyami Brown off to the NFL, Downs assumed the team’s number-one receiver role and did not disappoint. He broke out and recorded 101 receptions for 1,335 yards and scored eight touchdowns.
Entering his Junior season in 2022, Downs was named to the preseason All-ACC team and was selected to the preseason AP All-American second-team at the wide receiver position. In eleven contests that season, he hauled in 94 passes for 1,029 yards and found the end zone on eleven occasions. Downs finished his Carolina career with 2,483 receiving yards (fourth most in school history), 202 career receptions (third-most at UNC), and multiple school records at the wide receiver position.
Josh Downs Dynasty Rookie Profile: NFL
Josh Downs currently projects to be a late Day One, early Day Two selection in the upcoming NFL Draft. If you are looking to add him to your dynasty roster, he is a player you will need to use a first-round selection on unless he somehow slides down the board significantly a the draft.
The RotoHeat team has Josh Downs in the top 10 in our 2023 Dynasty Rookie Rankings, and in the top-15 in our Dynasty SuperFlex Rookie Rankings 2023. He isn’t the biggest WR in the draft, (5’9″, 171 lbs.), but he doesn’t have to be to succeed at the next level. He is a solid route runner that uses his quickness, change of speed and polished route running to gain separation. When faced with a 50/50 battle Downs has proven to possess a competitive nature that enables him to come out on top more often than not.
Downs ran the vast majority of his routes out of the slot at North Carolina and he projects to be a slot receiver in the NFL as well, which could cap his upside. Another area of opportunity for Downs especially early in his career is his lackluster blocking ability. Coaches tend to like receivers that will contribute to the run game as well as the pass. Down’s unwillingness or inability to block may find him on the bench more often than his fantasy managers would like.
There is a lot to like when watching Josh Downs’ film, and the good far outweighs the bad. I believe that he has the ability to develop into more than just a slot guy in the NFL. When watching Downs I compare him to Tyler Lockett, or Brandin Cooks. In the right system, with an Alpha WR next to him, I believe Downs is poised for a long successful career for an NFL team, and for our fantasy purposes.
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