Should I start Efton Chism III or Josh Downs in Week 9?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Efton Chism III, and the board ranks him 138th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Josh Downs, and the board ranks him 144th overall on the rest of his evidence.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Efton Chism III is 2.0 PPR points a game off 1 market across 10 market sources. 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-based projection for Josh Downs is 1.8 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.

Efton Chism III's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 8

Through Week 8, Efton Chism III has been on the field for 76 percent of NE snaps, drawn 12 percent of the targets and had 22 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 0 of the offence's 8 third down targets, had 0 of its 1 chance inside the five and seen 0 of its 6 two minute targets.

His 6 targets have averaged 4.5 air yards.

In Week 7 against CHI he caught 1 of 1 target for 16 yards and did not score.

In Week 8 against MIA he caught 5 of 5 targets for 37 yards and did not score.

Through Week 8, Josh Downs has been on the field for 81 percent of IND snaps, drawn 20 percent of the targets and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 16 of the offence's 64 third down targets, had 0 of its 21 chances inside the five and seen 5 of its 35 two minute targets.

His 51 targets have averaged 10.4 air yards.

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

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Efton Chism III played 8 games and scored 16.5 PPR points, 2.1 a game.

He caught 3 of 3 targets for 75 yards and 1 touchdown, with 1 red zone target.

That came to 0.4 targets a game, a 100 percent catch rate and 25.0 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 14 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

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.

Josh Downs was available for 8 games more.

Head to head

In 2025 Josh Downs scored 8.5 PPR points a game and Efton Chism III 2.1, 6.5 a game between them.

Josh Downs had 85 more targets than Efton Chism III, 88 to 3.

Josh Downs had 491 more receiving yards than Efton Chism III, 566 to 75.

This season Josh Downs holds the bigger snap share, 81 percent against 76 percent.

This season Josh Downs holds the bigger target share, 20 percent against 12 percent.

Byes and availability

Efton Chism III is off in Week 11 and Josh Downs in Week 13, so either can cover the other's bye.