Ought to Patriots goal Maye’s former UNC teammate in commerce?
New England Patriots
Josh Downs could possibly be an improve on a Patriots’ pass-catching corps that has been hit by a number of accidents.
The Patriots have a number of urgent must doubtlessly tackle forward of the NFL’s commerce deadline subsequent Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Close to the highest of the listing is New England’s shorthanded personnel on offense, be it added depth at offensive line or extra pass-catchers for Drake Maye.
Maye made probably the most with a patchwork offense towards the Dolphins on Sunday, finishing 9-of-9 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns to his broad receivers within the Patriots’ 24-19 win.
However even with Maye’s heroics in Miami, the Patriots may use extra reinforcements of their wideout corps — particularly with A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, and Mack Hollins nonetheless hampered by accidents.
And if New England desires so as to add an intriguing expertise to its roster with out essentially relinquishing premium property, Colts wideout Josh Downs could possibly be an interesting match.
The Colts are already within the midst of a fireplace sale, with a 2-6 Indianapolis membership buying and selling away key cogs like All-Professional guard Quenton Nelson and edge rusher DeForest Buckner final week.
Downs, 25, appears like a domino that’s set to fall for the Colts — with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reporting that the broad receiver submitted a commerce request final week.
“A number of groups have expressed curiosity in buying and selling for Downs, however the lack of motion on a deal regardless of the workforce’s clear rebuilding plan prompted the request,” Fowler famous on ESPN.
Downs is within the closing 12 months of his rookie contract with the Colts — recording 30 catches for 330 yards and one landing over eight video games this season.
The 25-year-old averaged 66 catches for 713 yards and three.7 touchdowns per season over his first three years in Indy — rising as a trusty slot receiver.
Having a dependable possibility to maneuver the chains for Maye off short-yardage throws could possibly be a welcome growth for Josh McDaniels’ offense, because the Patriots haven’t had constant manufacturing out of the slot over the previous few years.
Granted, the Patriots do have a participant in place who has primarily operated out of the slot in DeMario Douglas — who’s coming off a three-catch, 76-yard efficiency towards Miami, headlined by a 48-yard landing seize within the second half at Laborious Rock Stadium.
However the case will be made that Downs affords extra consistency on the place for the Patriots, who may additionally use all of the depth they want as they await the return of Brown, Hollins, and Doubs.
Whereas Brown isn’t on injured reserve like Hollins and Doubs, his nagging knee damage will should be monitored. Mike Vrabel was non-committal when requested final month about when Doubs is predicted to return to sport motion.
Downs may additionally be a worthwhile addition to the Patriots, given his ties to Maye.
The pair have been a dynamic duo at UNC, enjoying collectively in each 2021 and 2022.
Whereas Maye was primarily a backup to Sam Howell in 2021, Downs emerged as his high goal throughout a breakout 2022 marketing campaign — recording 94 receptions for 1,029 yards and 11 touchdowns that 12 months.
If the value to pry Downs out of Indianapolis is a fourth-round draft decide, it is perhaps a worthwhile transfer for the Patriots as they attempt to suture up a shredded depth chart on offense.
But when the Colts are standing agency on, say, a third-round decide — New England may decide to look elsewhere for assistance on offense, particularly if the Patriots consider that Downs could possibly be redundant subsequent to Douglas.
If the Patriots are nonetheless on the prowl for upgrades on offense, one other offensive guard or perhaps a extra constant backup operating again over TreVeyon Henderson could possibly be a possible pivot for Eliot Wolf and his workers.
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