Should I start Josh Downs or Tee Higgins in Week 6?

Updated Oct 19, 8:26 PM ET. Week 7 answers post Tuesday.

Start Tee Higgins: 80 percent of the snaps and 22 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 Tee Higgins?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Tee Higgins projects 135 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (12.3 a game over 11 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games).

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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

Tee Higgins

WR · CIN · on bye this week

2026 vs anytime td line 1-4

Market-based projection: 11.6 pts a game Wk 5 price
Overall rank: 302

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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 Tee Higgins, and the board ranks him 302nd 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 Tee Higgins, 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 so far

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 5, Tee Higgins has been on the field for 77 percent of CIN snaps, drawn 23 percent of the targets and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 11 of the offence's 46 third down targets, had 0 of its 12 chances inside the five and seen 7 of its 33 two minute targets.

His 43 targets have averaged 13.3 air yards.

In Week 3 against PIT he caught 6 of 7 targets for 90 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 4 against JAX he caught 11 of 16 targets for 157 yards and did not score.

In Week 5 against MIA he caught 2 of 4 targets for 22 yards and did not score.

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 Tee Higgins played 15 games and scored 211.6 PPR points, 14.1 a game, finishing WR15.

He caught 59 of 98 targets for 846 yards and 11 touchdowns, with 14 red zone targets.

That came to 6-7 targets a game, a 60 percent catch rate and 14.3 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 80 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Josh Downs was available for 1 game more.

Head to head

In 2025 Tee Higgins scored 14.1 PPR points a game and Josh Downs 8.5, 5.6 a game between them.

Josh Downs finished WR44 that year and Tee Higgins WR15.

Tee Higgins had 10 more targets than Josh Downs, 98 to 88.

Tee Higgins had 280 more receiving yards than Josh Downs, 846 to 566.

This season Josh Downs holds the bigger snap share, 80 percent against 77 percent.

This season Tee Higgins holds the bigger target share, 23 percent against 21 percent.

Byes and availability

Josh Downs is off in Week 13 and Tee Higgins in Week 6, so either can cover the other's bye.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Josh Downs for Tee Higgins?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Tee Higgins projects 135 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (12.3 a game over 11 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games).
Should I drop Tee Higgins for Josh Downs?
No. Keep Tee Higgins: he projects 135 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (12.3 a game over 11 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games).