Josh Downs

Pos: Wide Receiver

School: North Carolina

Ht. 5’10″ 

Wt. 175

Games Watched: Notre Dame(2022), Wake Forest(2022), Miami(2022), Pitt(2022)

One Liner: Quick, technically-savvy slot receiver that wins with reliable hands, quick feet and fantastic short area quickness

Strengths: 

  • Very good route running. Josh Downs shows great footwork and quick movements to make the sharp cuts at the stem of his route. He has great salesmanship and can fake out opposing defenders with sharp, fine tuned movements. 
  • Very good hands. Downs has reliable hands and has improved his catching throughout his time in college. Although he is on the smaller end, he is able to still extend his catch radius and compete in 50/50 situations and yield positive returns. His competitiveness and ball skills thus make him a reliable catcher in traffic as well.
  • Very good body control. Downs operates at a high speed throughout his route progression and is able to maintain good body positioning throughout to be in an optimal spot to make a play on passes thrown in his direction. As he elevates to make catches, Downs can control and warp his body to be in the most competitive manner to make a play on the ball and grab it out of the air.
  • Good speed. Downs has solid speed, and can be a formidable deep threat moving forward. His speed also allows him to be a good YAC threat, combined with short area quickness and shiftiness in his feet. 

Weaknesses:

  • Poor size. Downs is obviously undersized for the position and evidently will get pushed around a little bit during press releases at the next level. I think he will fare just fine even if he adds more weight to his frame, similar to Zay Flowers.
  • Marginal strength. Downs also lacks the muscle to truly compete on the outside against press corners. A couple punches and jabs could easily throw Downs’ route off track and disrupt the progression. Downs will need to add more bulk regardless of whether or not he plays on the outside at the next level.

Overall Assessment: Josh Downs is a dangerous slot threat who has high quality route running and hands that make him a reliable weapon at the next level. Downs has the speed to take the top off the defense and is shifty with twitch after the catch. He will be a tough task to account for with free slot releases over the middle. However, Downs may be limited to the slot if he fails to add any weight to his frame. He has a chance to compete on the outside against press corners, but it may not lead to fruitful returns unless he becomes strong enough to really maintain balance off press jabs and punches.

Scheme Fit: Slot receiver who could kick outside with some strength added to his frame

Pick Projection: Mid – Late First

Grade: 6.50