Christmas came early this year for Kansas City Chiefs fans asking for a wide receiver. Before the trade deadline on Tuesday, general manager Brett Veach struck a deal with the Indianapolis Colts for receiver Josh Downs. The 25-year-old playmaker has the skill set to be one of quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ top weapons.
This season, Downs was the Colts’ leading receiver by yards (354), more yards than any Chiefs pass catcher besides tight end Travis Kelce (482). Through three weeks, Downs was on pace
for a career season (62 yards per game), but the Colts quickly went into fire-sale mode amid a lost season. This is reflected in his most recent production.
The fourth-year wideout — a former third-round pick — was ready for a change of scenery, and there’s reason to believe Kansas City will be a good place to maximize his talents. Let’s take a closer look at why that’s the case:
Getting open quickly
In his NFL career, Downs has played nearly 80% of his pass-play snaps aligned in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. He is constantly used to win on quick-hitting routes, showing off route-running chops against man coverage and the elusiveness to find creases in zone coverage.
His ability to win against man coverage is arguably the biggest reason he will make a difference for the Chiefs’ offense the rest of the year. On this play, he runs an option route and stays patient coming off the line, reading the defense’s movement. He identifies the vacancy over the middle and makes a decisive move to create separation.
These option routes have not been as common in the Chiefs’ offense, especially with a wide receiver. In his prime, Travis Kelce ran these routes very well, but it takes the right combination of physical and mental tools to make them a constant play call.
In general, Downs will be a reliable option on short throws because of his feel for spacing on his routes and toughness after the catch. He has urgency to turn upfield, which helps him slip off tacklers; he runs hard and purposefully for his stature (5 feet 9 inches tall and 171 pounds at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine).
Getting open downfield
This season, over 65% of Downs’ targets have come on throws nine yards or closer to the line of scrimmage. However, he seems to make the most of his chances to run longer routes downfield.
Here, one of his many chains-moving catches against the Chiefs in Week 2, he makes quick work of cornerback L’Jarius Sneed with acceleration inside and a subtle move at the top of his route to completely shake Sneed despite his outside leverage. He uses the same quickness that gets him open to separate at the second level.
Another case in point of Downs’ shiftiness translating downfield.
When Downs releases vertically, it’s his acceleration that can earn him separation on a route like this. The two-way go out of the slot forces defenders to respect in, out and vertical releases, and Downs uses his suddenness well to create the separation regardless of which direction he goes.
Here, he makes a nice finish at the catch point and in bounds.
Tough catches
In the last clip, Downs shows strength to finish a contested catch. For his size, he shows a willingness to go up and fight for the ball.
The instincts when the ball is in the air is what can help quickly earn the trust of quarterback Patrick Mahomes when Downs isn’t wide open — because no player gets wide open often. Especially over the middle, Downs looks fearless and natural at finishing tight-window completions.
The bottom line
It’s clear that Downs is more of a pure receiver and route runner than the Chiefs currently have. Rashee Rice is a strong runner after the catch and understands how to settle into zone windows, but he has never shown off the route-running chops that Downs has. Xavier Worthy’s route running stands out as choppy compared to Downs’ smooth, gliding routes.
It appears he will need to work off the ball, using pre-snap motion and free releases to get open quickly in crucial spots. He won’t beat press constantly, so Rice and Worthy should take the bulk of those on-ball reps and allow Downs the space to accelerate into his routes.
According to PFF, Downs has four drops, tied for the sixth-most in the NFL this season. When a team punts on its season as early as Indianapolis did, there’s reason to believe Downs could improve on this mark being in a more locked-in environment with the Chiefs.
There’s little reason for Downs’ debut to be delayed. He is a strong fit in the offense and should make a big impact on the field by getting open, whether by breaking off a man defender or angling correctly between zone defenders.
The last piece of the puzzle will be whether Mahomes and Downs can develop chemistry quickly enough to make the most of the midseason move, giving the Chiefs answers to the issues they’ve faced targeting wide receivers this year.
