The Indianapolis Colts will face the Houston Texans in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Josh Downs.
Is Josh Downs Playing in Week 8?
Josh Downs was removed from the Indianapolis Colts’ injury report on Friday and is good to go against the Texans on Sunday.
The Colts have been giving Downs rest days since he injured his toe in Week 5. He hasn’t practiced on Wednesdays in either of the last two weeks. Now also battling a groin injury, Downs continued with that pattern ahead of Week 8.
But here’s where things differed this week: Downs remained a DNP on Thursday. Last week, he returned for a limited practice on Thursday.
Downs missed the first two games of this season with a high ankle sprain. After returning, he was a top-20 fantasy WR in three straight games while catching passes from Joe Flacco. However, he hauled in just one of three targets for three yards after the erratic Anthony Richarson returned under center in Week 7.
We’ll continue to monitor the Colts’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Josh Downs in Week 8?
After three straight games with over 65 receiving yards, a run that included a pair of touchdowns, Downs was a victim of the limitations of this offense and turned three targets into a whopping three yards.
Downs is a talented receiver, but with a 6.7-yard career aDOT and nearly 80% of his routes coming in the slot, his role is not going to soak up consistent usage in an Anthony Richardson-led unit, especially with Michael Pittman Jr. active. The weekly floor is as low as it gets for Downs and with the best defense in terms of slot completion percentage (53.2%) on the other sideline, the odds of a floor performance spike.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Josh Downs’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Downs is projected to score 11.7 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5 receptions for 49.4 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Josh Downs’ Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:00 AM ET on Thursday, January 2. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 WR PPR Rankings
1) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (at PIT)
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Justin Jefferson | MIN (at DET)
4) Mike Evans | TB (vs. NO)
5) Puka Nacua | LAR (vs. SEA)
6) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (at IND)
7) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at LV)
8) Drake London | ATL (vs. CAR)
9) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at DAL)
10) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at LAR)
11) Malik Nabers | NYG (at PHI)
12) Tee Higgins | CIN (at PIT)
13) George Pickens | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Davante Adams | NYJ (vs. MIA)
15) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. KC)
16) Jauan Jennings | SF (at ARI)
17) Jordan Addison | MIN (at DET)
18) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at NYJ)
19) DJ Moore | CHI (at GB)
20) Nico Collins | HOU (at TEN)
21) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs. CLE)
22) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. MIN)
23) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs. MIA)
24) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at NYJ)
25) DK Metcalf | SEA (at LAR)
26) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (at ARI)
27) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. NO)
28) Adam Thielen | CAR (at ATL)
29) Calvin Ridley | TEN (vs. HOU)
30) Keenan Allen | CHI (at GB)
31) Jakobi Meyers | LV (vs. LAC)
32) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. CHI)
33) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. SEA)
34) Josh Downs | IND (vs. JAX)
35) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (vs. SF)
36) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs. JAX)
37) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at LV)
38) Darnell Mooney | ATL (vs. CAR)
39) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs. CHI)
40) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at NE)
41) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (at BAL)
42) Rome Odunze | CHI (at GB)
43) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs. CLE)
44) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. BUF)
45) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (at PHI)
46) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs. CHI)
47) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at DAL)
48) Jalen Coker | CAR (at ATL)
49) Xavier Worthy | KC (at DEN)
50) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (vs. HOU)
51) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at DEN)
52) Hollywood Brown | KC (at DEN)
53) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. WAS)
54) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (vs. KC)
55) Parker Washington | JAX (at IND)
56) Amari Cooper | BUF (at NE)
57) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. BUF)
58) Tim Patrick | DET (vs. MIN)
59) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at LV)
60) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (vs. CAR)
61) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (at PIT)
62) Devaughn Vele | DEN (vs. KC)
63) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (at NE)
64) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (vs. WAS)
65) Ricky Pearsall | SF (at ARI)
66) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. CIN)
67) Michael Wilson | ARI (vs. SF)
68) Keon Coleman | BUF (at NE)
69) Tre Tucker | LV (vs. LAC)
70) Jalen Nailor | MIN (at DET)
71) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at DAL)
72) Elijah Moore | CLE (at BAL)
73) Xavier Legette | CAR (at ATL)
74) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. BUF)
75) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. WAS)
76) David Moore | CAR (at ATL)
77) Adonai Mitchell | IND (vs. JAX)
78) Mike Williams | PIT (vs. CIN)
79) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. SEA)
80) Malik Washington | MIA (at NYJ)
81) Allen Lazard | NYJ (vs. MIA)
82) Alec Pierce | IND (vs. JAX)
83) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at LAR)
84) John Metchie III | HOU (at TEN)
85) Robert Woods | HOU (at TEN)
86) Darius Slayton | NYG (at PHI)
87) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. CIN)
88) Troy Franklin | DEN (vs. KC)
89) Mack Hollins | BUF (at NE)
90) Tyler Boyd | TEN (vs. HOU)
91) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at DAL)
92) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. SEA)
93) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (at TB)
94) Dante Pettis | CHI (at GB)
95) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (at TEN)
96) Ryan Miller | TB (vs. NO)
97) Greg Dortch | ARI (vs. SF)
98) DJ Chark | LAC (at LV)
99) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (vs. KC)
100) Michael Woods II | CLE (at BAL)
101) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (at TB)
102) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at DEN)
103) Devin Duvernay | JAX (at IND)
104) Justin Watson | KC (at DEN)
105) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs. CLE)
106) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. NYG)
107) Josh Reynolds | DEN (vs. KC)
108) Ryan Flournoy | DAL (vs. WAS)
109) Trey Palmer | TB (vs. NO)
110) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. NYG)
111) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. NYG)
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans Insights
Indianapolis Colts
Team: One team this season is giving away at least five minutes in time of possession per game, and it’s the Colts – at -7:34 per game.
QB: Anthony Richardson’s 48.5% completion percentage is the lowest through a team’s first seven games since Josh Freeman in 2013.
Offense: The Colts are allowing pressure on just 27.9% of dropbacks, the third-lowest rate in the league.
Defense: Indianapolis has allowed a touchdown on just 2.2% of deep passes, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
Fantasy: Tyler Goodson has finished each of the past three weeks as RB33 or better (Trey Sermon has finished worse than that in the past two weeks).
Betting: The Colts are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games with a projected point total north of 45 points.
Houston Texans
Team: A win would be Houston’s third straight over Indianapolis, tying their longest win streak ever vs. the Colts (also done from 2015-16).
QB: C.J. Stroud ranks second in EPA per dropback against man coverage (0.36), but only 24th against zone (-0.11). The Colts play zone coverage at the third-highest rate of any defense (78.7%).
Offense: The Texans allowed a 51.7% pressure rate in Sunday’s loss to the Packers, their second-highest in C.J. Stroud’s 22 career starts.
Defense: The Texans have allowed a touchdown on a league-high 7% of opponent passes.
Fantasy: Nico Collins was injured on Stroud’s way to a second straight game with over 330 passing yards and has missed two games now – Stroud has 278 yards through the air in those contests. In Weeks 1-5, Stroud completed 51.2% of his 8.2 deep pass attempts per game and was threatening defenses vertically on a consistent basis. Since, he’s at 36.4% on 5.5 attempts per game.
Betting: Unders are 9-4 since the start of 2020 when the Texans host a divisional opponent (69.2%).