Should I start Josh Downs or C.J. Stroud in Week 10?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Josh Downs, and the board ranks him 134th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on C.J. Stroud, and the board ranks him 135th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 30.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Josh Downs is 1.7 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market has C.J. Stroud at 1.1 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 0 percent of what a quarterback's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Josh Downs's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 9

Through Week 9, Josh Downs has been on the field for 81 percent of IND snaps, drawn 20 percent of the targets and had 10 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 18 of the offence's 73 third down targets, had 0 of its 22 chances inside the five and seen 6 of its 44 two minute targets.

His 57 targets have averaged 9.6 air yards.

In Week 7 against MIN he caught 2 of 4 targets for 18 yards and did not score.

In Week 8 against JAX he caught 4 of 5 targets for 23 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 9 against DAL he caught 3 of 6 targets for 24 yards and did not score.

Through Week 9, C.J. Stroud has been on the field for 98 percent of HOU snaps, dropped back 304 times and thrown 9.7 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 41 of 304 dropbacks and scrambled 10 times.

In Week 6 against JAX he completed 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards, threw 3 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 1 time for 5 yards.

In Week 7 against NYG he completed 17 of 28 passes for 153 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 2 times for 4 yards.

In Week 9 against LAC he completed 21 of 35 passes for 384 yards, threw 5 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 2 times for 20 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Josh Downs played 16 games and scored 136.4 PPR points, 8.5 a game, finishing WR44.

He caught 58 of 88 targets for 566 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 14 red zone targets.

That came to 5-6 targets a game, a 66 percent catch rate and 9.8 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 58 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 C.J. Stroud played 14 games and scored 216.5 PPR points, 15.5 a game, finishing QB21.

He threw for 3041 yards on 423 attempts with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran for 209 yards and 1 touchdown.

That came to 30.2 attempts a game at 7.2 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Josh Downs was available for 2 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 C.J. Stroud scored 15.5 PPR points a game and Josh Downs 8.5, 6.9 a game between them.

Josh Downs finished WR44 and C.J. Stroud QB21, which are two different ladders.

Josh Downs is a wide receiver and C.J. Stroud a quarterback, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Josh Downs is off in Week 13 and C.J. Stroud in Week 8, so either can cover the other's bye.