Will Josh Downs Play in Week 1? Fantasy Football Injury Update

Will Josh Downs play for the Indianapolis Colts in 2025? Will Josh Downs be healthy enough to play in Week 1? John breaks down the latest Josh Downs injury news for fantasy football.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (hamstring), unfortunately, is dealing with a hamstring issue and has missed practice time as a result. Downs had a breakout campaign in 2024, unfortunately cut short by... not an injury, but by absolutely horrific quarterback play. 

QB Anthony Richardson Sr. has now been benched, and Daniel Jones, previously of the New York Giants, is set to be the starter in his place. That will have implications for his fantasy value, of course, but first, it will be important to get a grip on what his injury situation is like.

Hamstring injuries are the bane of many NFL players, unfortunately. Their lingering nature is never fun to deal with, and it being such a crucial muscle for running, it's often not possible to play through the issues. So let's break down if Downs will play this season, if he'll be ready for Week 1, and his overall fantasy football outlook!

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Will Josh Downs Play This Season?

Yes. It's pretty clear that hamstring issues don't cause season-long absences without being re-aggravated. Luckily for us, there's still time before the 2025 NFL season starts, so Downs has extra leg room in which to get healthy before the team takes the field for the first time, with or without him.

It being the preseason currently, it's hard to know how severe the issue is. Teams are much more likely to be conservative with their players ahead of games. It's much less important to miss a preseason game as a veteran player, though it won't be amazing that he'll have less time to build chemistry with his new starting QB.

Josh Downs hamstring

50% of WRs since 2017 miss between 1-3.5 weeks.

In severe circumstances they take 6 + weeks but that is only 10% of the sample.

Week 1 is about 3.5 weeks away. https://t.co/KKZ34uc3Gn pic.twitter.com/w4Nwjf5P5g

— Adam Hutchison (@TheRealAdam_H) August 14, 2025

Will Josh Downs Play In Week 1?

I would say it's pretty likely. As we can see from the post below, the data favors that he returns for the start of the season. As it also states, we don't have information on the severity, though. This is another situation in which we'll have to wait for more news.

If he does miss the first week of action, it's unlikely that he'll miss much more. It's hard to know why the extent of his injury hasn't yet been reported, but it's possible it's because the Colts don't know how long it will take him to return. That's at least better than if they knew for a fact he would miss some time.

#Colts Josh Downs - Hamstring last week. Avg = 2-3 wks. Data favors return by Wk 1, but severity varies and hasn't been reported. Time missed = key predictor of re-injury risk + severity#Packers MarShawn Lloyd - Hamstring. HIGH risk. 2nd soft tissue strain this yr

7/10

— Deepak Chona, MD. SMA (@SportMDAnalysis) August 17, 2025

It's unknown whether they'll opt to be overly cautious once the season actually starts. But for now, it seems like the worst-case scenario is just him missing a week or two. Which isn't something to lose a lot of sleep over, thankfully.

Be sure to read RotoBaller's follow-up articles on Downs, where you'll be able to find the latest information when an update comes out. These will come closer to the start of the season, or whenever more substantive news arises.

Josh Downs 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook

Downs is a fantastic separator in short-yardage situations. He mostly plays in the slot, where he's matched up with smaller and less athletic cornerbacks, which aids him in getting open and being a key cog in the short-passing game. Downs also possesses the ability to get open downfield, but it's not his best trait.

He's best in a "Quarterback's Best Friend" role, regularly beating his coverage on routes that create easy, slam dunk throws with a high expected completion percentage for his signal-caller. His upside in PPR, thus, is driven heavily by target and reception totals, which can get pretty high in a hurry.

Josh Downs was on pace for 130 Targets with Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco.. (missed 3 games)

Malik Nabers (WR6) earned 170 Targets and Wan’Dale Robinson (WR36) earned 140 Targets with Daniel Jones last year..

His current ADP? WR48..

I will leave every draft with Josh Downs pic.twitter.com/l1lB8sWHQD

— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) July 1, 2025

The quarterback situation will be the main factor depressing his production, of course. Jones and Richardson are both demonstrably bad. But he's not a terrible pick to make. The problem is that, in redraft leagues, it's tough to predict when he'll have his good and bad games.

Down the stretch, you need players you can trust. Downs might not be the ideal starter, but often, you're simply looking for passable production in the flex spot, and with a few games of 20 or more PPR points, you can even get the edge in some of your matchups.

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