Josh Downs is the Type of Wide Receiver That Shane Steichen Needed: Film Room
The Indianapolis Colts have gone back to the offensive side of the ball with their third round selection, nabbing North Carolina wide receiver Josh Downs with the 79th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Downs is a major mold-breaker for Chris Ballard's scouting staff, as he measures in at just 5'9" 176 pounds. While Downs' size may constrain him to the slot in the NFL, the Colts could not have found a better fit for Shane Steichen's offense on day two.
Why This Mold Matters
Many of us, myself included, have lauded Shane Steichen this offseason for his tendency to lean on the explosive passing game. While it is important to have deep playmaking wide receivers for this type of scheme, it is just as valuable to have reliable separators underneath.
Steichen's scheme isn't just throw 50 vertical passes a game, it is built like a modern NBA offense. His offense consists of lay-ups and three pointers. While the Colts have some players that can make those deep threes (Alec Pierce, Jelani Woods), they severely lacked in the lay-up department.
That is where a player like Josh Downs comes in. Downs is a pure separator that simply knows how to get open. He may be unconventional in how he does it (every single rep looks like a Senior Bowl one on one), but he understands the importance of creating an opening for his quarterback.
A player with Downs' skillset is also vital for Shane Steichen's scheme because this scheme relies on spacing. A shifty slot receiver is going to stress a defense so much underneath that it will create more vertical opportunities for guys like Pierce and Woods.
Steichen's passing offense essentially lives in bunch formations, 3x1 sets, and empty personnel. To have an offense that thrives in these sets, a playcaller needs a quick receiver that can create separation. He had it in Los Angeles with Keenan Allen. He had it in Philadelphia with DeVonta Smith.
He now has it in Indy with Josh Downs.
Types of Usage
Speaking of those particular sets in that last paragraph, let's look at how Josh Downs was used in each during his college days.
3x1 Sets
While Downs has the separation ability to be the lone backside player in a 3x1 set, he is his most deadly when aligned as the inner most receiver in the bunch. He can win the one on one with his quickness or the offense can slip him in and out of routes by muddying the water with congestion to that side.
Here, Downs gets wide open in the redzone for the score:
Bunch Formation
Bunch formation is another way to exploit Downs' talents on offense. With him being a smaller receiver, he is easy to slip behind window dressing in the bunch. Downs can explode out of the mesh wide open, or he can be a zone beater over the middle out of this set.
Here, he gets to his spot behind the linebacker and gets a positive chunk:
Simply Getting Open
At the end of the day, Josh Downs is a separator. He knows how to vary his speed and manipulate defenders into getting open. Aside from Kylen Granson, the Colts did not have this type of playmaker in the offense prior to the draft. Downs provides the Colts' offense the extra juice it needed in the short game:
The Bottom Line
Josh Downs is an outlier in his size, but he is hard to ignore on film. He knows how to separate and can be an absolute weapon for a play caller that understands the importance of creating space. For an offense that needed this type of weapon, Josh Downs is going to have a huge impact early on.
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