Start Christian Watson or Josh Downs? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 3:01 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Watson projects lower, 11.9 to 14.2, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 58 for Watson, 96 for Downs.

Start

Christian Watson

WR · GB · at DET

Market projects: 11.9; recent weeks avg
DET D vs WR: 41.0; 3rd most to WRs (2026)
Snap share: 79%; Through Week 6
Target share: 22%; Through Week 6

Sit

Josh Downs

WR · IND · at MIN

Market projects: 14.2; recent weeks avg
MIN D vs WR: 27.1; 5th fewest to WRs (2026)
Snap share: 80%; Through Week 6
Target share: 21%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Josh Downs for Christian Watson?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Christian Watson projects 143 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (14.3 a game over 10 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Christian Watson over Josh Downs.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Christian Watson over Josh Downs in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Christian Watson at 11.9 points and Josh Downs at 14.2, a gap of 2.3. Christian Watson still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 58 against 96, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Christian Watson this week yet, so his 11.9 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (10.7 and 13.1); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Josh Downs this week yet, so his 14.2 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (16.3 and 12.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Josh Downs yet. His market-based projections were 16.3 and 12.0 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 14.2, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

No Week 7 player market is posted for Christian Watson yet. His market-based projections were 10.7 and 13.1 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 11.9, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Josh Downs 2.3 points ahead of Christian Watson on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Josh Downs and IND visit MIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

MIN allowed 27.1 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 5 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 133 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against MIN.

Christian Watson and GB visit DET on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

DET allowed 41.0 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 5 games, the 3rd most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 195 yards and a touchdown a game against DET.

By points allowed to the position, Christian Watson has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Josh Downs is not on the injury report.

Christian Watson is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Josh Downs played 80 percent of IND snaps, drew 21 percent of the targets, earned 26 percent of the air yards and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

Josh Downs, Week 3 against HOU: 48 of 71 snaps, 11 targets and 5 catches for 77 yards.

Josh Downs, Week 4 against WAS: 51 of 66 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 16 yards.

Josh Downs, Week 5 against PIT: 60 of 71 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 47 yards.

Josh Downs, Week 6 against TEN: 1 carry for 7 yards, 8 targets and 4 catches for 40 yards.

Through Week 6, Christian Watson played 79 percent of GB snaps, drew 22 percent of the targets, earned 33 percent of the air yards and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

Christian Watson, Week 3 against ATL: 53 of 66 snaps, 10 targets and 7 catches for 96 yards, 1 touchdown.

Christian Watson, Week 4 against TB: 41 of 60 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 47 yards.

Christian Watson, Week 5 against CHI: 49 of 61 snaps, 8 targets and 6 catches for 143 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Christian Watson, Week 6 against DAL: 8 targets and 3 catches for 64 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Josh Downs played 16 games for IND 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 and 422 air yards.

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

In 2025, Christian Watson played 10 games for GB and scored 132.4 PPR points, 13.2 a game, finishing WR46.

He caught 35 of 55 targets for 611 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 6 red zone targets and 493 air yards.

He was on the field for 68 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Josh Downs for Christian Watson?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Christian Watson projects 143 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (14.3 a game over 10 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Christian Watson over Josh Downs.
Should I drop Christian Watson for Josh Downs?
No. Keep Christian Watson: he projects 143 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (14.3 a game over 10 games), Josh Downs 121 (12.1 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Christian Watson over Josh Downs.