Start Denzel Boston or Josh Downs? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 5:41 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 21, 4:13 PM ET: Denzel Boston: Listed Questionable (Foot) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start Josh Downs over Denzel Boston

Start

Josh Downs

WR · IND · at JAX

Market projects: 11.7; recent weeks avg
JAX D vs WR: 38.0; 4th most to WRs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 74 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 82%; Through Week 7
Target share: 20%; Through Week 7

Sit

Denzel Boston

WR · CLE · at PIT

Market projects: 10.4; recent weeks avg
PIT D vs WR: 30.2; 14th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 60 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 91%; Through Week 7
Target share: 20%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Denzel Boston for Josh Downs?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Josh Downs projects 105 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 9 games), Denzel Boston 95 (10.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Josh Downs over Denzel Boston.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Denzel Boston rookie cards Josh Downs rookie cards

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 7am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

Our Week 8 call

Start Josh Downs over Denzel Boston in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Josh Downs at 11.7 points and Denzel Boston at 10.4, a gap of 1.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Josh Downs this week yet, so his 11.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (12.0, 12.3 and 10.9); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Denzel Boston this week yet, so his 10.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (10.3, 10.6 and 10.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Josh Downs at ADP 96 and Denzel Boston at 143.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Josh Downs yet. His market-based projections were 12.0, 12.3 and 10.9 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 11.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Denzel Boston yet. His market-based projections were 10.3, 10.6 and 10.5 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 10.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Josh Downs 1.3 points ahead of Denzel Boston on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

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

JAX allowed 38.0 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 4th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 210 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against JAX.

Denzel Boston and CLE visit PIT on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

PIT allowed 30.2 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 7 games, the 14th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 147 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against PIT.

By points allowed to the position, Josh Downs has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Josh Downs is not on the injury report.

Denzel Boston is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Josh Downs played 82 percent of IND snaps, drew 20 percent of the targets, earned 26 percent of the air yards and had 10 percent of the red zone chances.

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: 71 of 83 snaps, 1 carry for 7 yards, 8 targets and 4 catches for 40 yards.

Josh Downs, Week 7 against MIN: 52 of 58 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 18 yards.

Through Week 7, Denzel Boston played 91 percent of CLE snaps, drew 20 percent of the targets, earned 45 percent of the air yards and had 12 percent of the red zone chances.

Denzel Boston, Week 4 against PIT: 61 of 64 snaps, 7 targets and 4 catches for 89 yards.

Denzel Boston, Week 5 against NYJ: 62 of 68 snaps, 7 targets and 3 catches for 46 yards, 1 touchdown.

Denzel Boston, Week 6 against BAL: 58 of 62 snaps, 5 targets and 1 catch for 15 yards.

Denzel Boston, Week 7 against TEN: 61 of 70 snaps, 8 targets and 3 catches for 27 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.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Denzel Boston for Josh Downs?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Josh Downs projects 105 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 9 games), Denzel Boston 95 (10.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Josh Downs over Denzel Boston.
Should I drop Josh Downs for Denzel Boston?
No. Keep Josh Downs: he projects 105 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 9 games), Denzel Boston 95 (10.5 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Josh Downs over Denzel Boston.

Should I drop Denzel Boston?Should I drop Josh Downs?