Should I start Josh Downs or Drake Maye in Week 6?

Updated Oct 19, 7:51 PM ET. Week 7 answers post Tuesday.

Start Drake Maye: 94 percent of the snaps and 0 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Josh Downs's 76 percent of the snaps and 20 percent of the targets. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.

Should I drop Josh Downs for Drake Maye?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 181 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.1 a game over 10 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games).

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Your next move

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Neither man carries a season projection right now, so this is their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, side by side.

Josh Downs

WR19 · IND · bye 13

2026 vs anytime td line 0-6

Market-based projection: 12.6 pts a game Wk 6 price
Overall rank: 47

Drake Maye

QB5 · NE · bye 11

2026 vs pass yds line 2-4

Market-based projection: 19.2 pts a game Wk 6 price
Overall rank: 48

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The gap

Board size332 draftable players

Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Josh Downs, and the board ranks him 47th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Drake Maye, and the board ranks him 48th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

No season market is posted for Josh Downs, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.

No season market is posted for Drake Maye, so the only market valuing him on this page is the draft room.

Neither carries a posted market, so this page rests on the draft room and on what the two have already done.

This season through Week 6

Through Week 6, Josh Downs has been on the field for 80 percent of IND snaps, drawn 21 percent of the targets and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 13 of the offence's 49 third down targets, had 0 of its 19 chances inside the five and seen 3 of its 25 two minute targets.

His 42 targets have averaged 10.7 air yards.

In Week 4 against WAS he caught 3 of 4 targets for 16 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against PIT he caught 3 of 6 targets for 47 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against TEN he carried 1 time for 7 yards, caught 4 of 8 targets for 40 yards and did not score.

Through Week 6, Drake Maye has been on the field for 96 percent of NE snaps, dropped back 214 times and thrown 9.0 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 31 of 214 dropbacks and scrambled 20 times.

In Week 4 against BUF he completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, threw 3 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 6 times for 56 yards.

In Week 5 against LV he completed 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards, threw 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 4 times for 29 yards.

In Week 6 against NYJ he completed 18 of 32 passes for 235 yards, threw 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 3 times for 25 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 Drake Maye played 17 games and scored 360.0 PPR points, 21.2 a game, finishing QB2.

He threw for 4394 yards on 492 attempts with 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and ran for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns.

That came to 28.9 attempts a game at 8.9 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 97 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Drake Maye was available for 1 game more.

Side by side

In 2025 Drake Maye scored 21.2 PPR points a game and Josh Downs 8.5, 12.6 a game between them.

Josh Downs finished WR44 and Drake Maye QB2, which are two different ladders.

Josh Downs is a wide receiver and Drake Maye 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 Drake Maye in Week 11, so either can cover the other's bye.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Josh Downs for Drake Maye?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Drake Maye projects 181 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.1 a game over 10 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games).
Should I drop Drake Maye for Josh Downs?
No. Keep Drake Maye: he projects 181 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (18.1 a game over 10 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games).