At only 5-foot-9 and 172 pounds, Josh Downs faces an uphill battle as he attempts to establish himself as a relevant part of an NFL offense -- there just isn't much of a precedent for players of this archetype finding long-term success as a pro. As a result, Downs slid into Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, falling behind many receivers whom he outproduced at the collegiate level. The Indianapolis Colts filled a need with the Downs selection, replacing longtime slot receiver Parris Campbell and adding another weapon for the No. 4 overall pick, quarterback Anthony Richardson. Though he may be given limited opportunities at first, Downs' collegiate data and impressive film both suggest that he has the potential to be highly productive at the NFL if he's given the chance to do so.

Below, you'll find Josh Downs' Dynasty prospect grade based on five factors. His Peripherals grade is determined by draft capital, breakout age and a few other factors. His Route Readiness grade examines his ability to draw targets and convert them into yards on the five most-common NFL receiver routes. His Volume Potential grade keys in on target share metrics. His Explosiveness grade is determined by YAC and deep-target data. His Yardage Creation grade centers around yards per route run rate, which is the single most important metric for Fantasy receiver evaluation.

This profile is part of our series diving deep into the 2023 NFL Draft wide receiver class. You can find profiles for all the key rookie receivers on the home page for this series along with links to each leg of the grading system. And if all you want to see is my Dynasty receiver rookie rankings, you can find them there too.

Now let's get into my evaluation of Josh Downs which includes his rankings among the class in each grade and overall, plus my analysis and similar profiles from other recent NFL Draft prospects.

So where does Downs rank among this rookie class? And which recent receiver prospects have comparable evaluations? ... Join SportsLine here to see Jacob Gibbs' analysis of the top rookie wide receivers, all from one of the nation's most accurate experts as graded by FantasyPros!