CeeDee Lamb vs Josh Downs: Who Should You Start?
CeeDee Lamb and Josh Downs are both viable fantasy wide receivers heading into 2026, but their 2025 production tells two different stories. CeeDee Lamb averaged 11.7 PPG across 14 games with the Dallas Cowboys, while Josh Downs posted 6.7 PPG in 16 appearances for the Indianapolis Colts.
A 5.0-PPG gap gives CeeDee Lamb the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Target volume is the story here. CeeDee Lamb saw 117 targets in 2025, while Josh Downs drew 88. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for CeeDee Lamb, even in weeks where Josh Downs posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
CeeDee Lamb has his bye in Week 7, and Josh Downs rests in Week 14. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at wide receiver for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
