Eight weeks of the 2024 NFL season have already come and gone – and for one former Tar Heel, he’s having quite the “sophomore year.”
Josh Downs, who played at UNC from 2020-2022, is the guy in question. Downs was a 2-time, First Team All-ACC honoree at North Carolina and finished amongst the program leaders in receiving yards.
Downs, not even two full seasons into his Indianapolis Colts career, continues to show why Indianapolis was wise to take him 79th overall (third round) in the 2023 NFL Draft.
In the Colts’ 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, in a game that could very well go towards deciding the AFC South, Downs caught four passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
What made Downs’ game so special? Besides the fact that it was his second career 100-yard outing, Downs was one of just 16 NFL receivers – in Week 8 – to hit the rare century mark for receiving yards.
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If it weren’t for Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce, Downs would undoubtedly be the top guy in Indy. Downs is third on the Colts with 351 receiving yards, plus he’s tied with Pierce for a team-best three receiving touchdowns.
There’s a case quickly being made, though, for Downs being one of the NFL’s best young slot receivers.
As a Tar Heel, Downs achieved another rare distinction of reaching 1,000 receiving yards in consecutive seasons (2019 and 2020). Downs did this while catching passes from two different quarterbacks: Nathan Elliot (2018) and Sam Howell (2019).
Indianapolis is no different for Downs, as he’s catching passes from both Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco. In 2023, Gardner Minshew was throwing passes under center for the Colts.
There’s one constant for Downs, regardless of who’s slinging the football: he’s a key part of the future in Indianapolis.
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