Colts wideout Josh Downs is heading into a bigger role with Alec Pierce sidelined by injury, and he sounds ready to make the most of it. Downs said the extra chances are both a chance to expand his game and another way to prove he belongs among the NFL’s better receivers.
“It’s definitely an opportunity, but also a continuation to show I’m a really good receiver in the NFL,” Downs said, via the team’s website. “I feel like I’m with some of the best guys in the league and I’m excited for more opportunities.”
Shane Steichen made it clear the Colts are planning to keep feeding him. The head coach said the staff is working to find new ways to get Downs involved and expects that process to continue through camp and into game-week prep.
“(We’re) trying to find different ways to get him the ball,” Steichen said. “We’ll go through that in training camp and game week prep, but we’re excited for him this year.”
Chris Ballard was just as upbeat about what more touches could mean. The Colts general manager called Downs explosive, praised his toughness, and said he expects the expanded role to highlight his versatility.
“I think this is going to be a good thing for us,” Ballard said. “I think Josh is explosive and I think he’s got playmaking ability.
He’s a tough dude and it’ll be fun to watch him. I’m a Josh Downs fan.”
Jonathan Taylor, meanwhile, is playing the final season of the three-year, $42 million extension he signed three years ago after a hold-in during training camp. This time, he says he is not planning to repeat that approach. Instead, Taylor said he trusts the Colts and his agent to work through things, and he still wants to finish his career in Indianapolis.
“I have faith,” Taylor said, via Nathan Brown of The Indianapolis Star. “There have been some good conversations, but I have faith between my agent and the front office. Like I’ve said already, I would love to be a Colt for life, and I have faith that things are moving in the right direction.”
Taylor also pointed to Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry as proof that elite backs can keep rolling even as the years pile up. He singled out Henry’s recent production and said age does not automatically strip away value from a top-tier runner.
“Saquon isn’t as old as Derrick Henry, but Derrick’s doing something that’s crazy, and I think people need to take notice. Derrick just went for (nearly) 1,600 (yards), and he’s not stopping. I just think year-in and year-out, those guys you mentioned and a few others, it doesn’t matter if they’re 25 or 32, they’re still playing at a high level.
“At the end of the day, analytics doesn’t really matter. If you’re a baller and can help your team win and you’re an elite guy in a very difficult league, I think it’s worth something.”
In Jacksonville, Liam Coen said Parker Washington has settled into the No. 2 receiver spot and eased some of the attention on Brian Thomas Jr. Coen pointed to Washington’s late-season production, including multiple double-digit catch games, as a major reason the Jaguars were able to reach the playoffs with confidence in the passing game.
“Parker is one that really, at the end of the year, man, when Sauce Gardner and those guys are on BT, Parker ends up having multiple double-digit catch games towards the end of the season that really allowed us to get into the playoffs with some of the confidence that we did in the pass game,” Coen said, via Jags Wire. “So he’s tough.
He’s compact. He’s a really good punt returner.
And he just, he’s almost built like a running back in his lower half. His run after catch is something that we really appreciate as coaches.
And we can’t teach that really. Like we can’t coach them always to be special when the ball’s in their hands.
And that’s something Parker has.”
Coen also said Washington and Trevor Lawrence have kept building chemistry and praised the receiver’s approach behind the scenes. He said Washington is in the building early, works on both his body and mind, and continues to rise after being drafted in the sixth round.
“Him and Trevor have continued to just build a connection, a relationship on and off the field,” Coen said. “I mean, Parker Washington is the first guy in our building. 5 a.m., 5.30.
He is in the weight room working on himself, on his body, on his mind. He trains both mentally and physically.
He really gets it. He pours into himself and his body and knows how to try to take care of himself as a pro.
Six-round pick, man. That just, he’s continued to ascend ever since we got here.”
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