Start Josh Downs or Germie Bernard? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 3:11 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Josh Downs over Germie Bernard

Start

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

Sit

Germie Bernard

Market projects: 12.1; fantasy pts
Snap share: 48%; Through Week 6
Target share: 15%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Germie Bernard for Josh Downs?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Josh Downs projects 121 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (12.1 a game over 10 games), Germie Bernard 43 (4.3 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Josh Downs over Germie Bernard.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Josh Downs over Germie Bernard in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Josh Downs at 14.2 points and Germie Bernard at 12.1, a gap of 2.1. 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.

Player markets imply 12.1 fantasy points for Germie Bernard, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for Germie Bernard is 54 receiving yards, 4-5 receptions and 0.4 touchdowns (6, 6 and 8 market sources).

That puts Josh Downs 2.1 points ahead of Germie Bernard 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.

Injury status

Josh Downs is not on the injury report.

Germie Bernard 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, Germie Bernard played 48 percent of PIT snaps, drew 15 percent of the targets, earned 9 percent of the air yards and had 16 percent of the red zone chances.

Germie Bernard, Week 3 against CIN: 17 of 62 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 14 yards.

Germie Bernard, Week 4 against CLE: 29 of 72 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards.

Germie Bernard, Week 5 against IND: 55 of 60 snaps, 1 carry for 4 yards, 9 targets and 6 catches for 80 yards.

Germie Bernard, Week 6 against TB: 12 targets and 11 catches for 87 yards, 1 touchdown.

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 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 Germie Bernard for Josh Downs?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Josh Downs projects 121 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (12.1 a game over 10 games), Germie Bernard 43 (4.3 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Josh Downs over Germie Bernard.
Should I drop Josh Downs for Germie Bernard?
No. Keep Josh Downs: he projects 121 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (12.1 a game over 10 games), Germie Bernard 43 (4.3 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Josh Downs over Germie Bernard.