The Indianapolis Colts are having a fire sale (they already traded Quenton Nelson and De'Forest Buckner, and they might trade Jonathan Taylor), and the New England Patriots may benefit from taking advantage of that by taking Josh Downs off their hands.
Trading for Josh Downs would give Drake Maye long-term stability at WR
Downs has requested a trade from the Colts, and the Patriots should explore adding him to their roster.
They are dealing with a ton of injuries to the receiving corps (Mack Hollins and Romeo Doubs are on the injured reserve, and A.J. Brown has only played two full games for the Patriots this season, though he hasn't looked all that impressive in them anyway), and Downs has experience playing with Drake Maye during their time at UNC.
Beyond that, though, trading for Downs would help New England in the long run, as he is only 25 years old. And given how important it is for the Patriots to set Maye up for success for the short- and long-term, it would make sense to reunite him with one of his former favorite targets.
Downs played with Maye for two collegiate seasons, and he was impressive (led the ACC in receptions in 2021 and 2022 with 101 and 94, respectively, recorded a total of 2364 receiving yards and 19 TDs).
Plus, Downs has been good at the NFL level, too. Through parts of four seasons with the Colts, he has recorded 228 receptions, 2,470 yards, and 12 TDs. And that's with him mostly playing alongside guys like Michael Pittman, Alec Pierce, and Tyler Warren, who were/are more prominent targets in Indianapolis' offense.
Josh Downs would be the cherry on top in New England
The Patriots don't need to trade for Downs. Brown should eventually find his groove in New England. Hollins and Doubs will come back. And even players like DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism, and Kyle Williams have looked solid in recent games.
New England has a deep receiver room. At least on paper. And when (if?) they get fully healthy, then the Patriots' offense should be able to live up to the potential everyone expected.
However, for the time being, the Patriots are putting a ton of pressure on Maye to sort of do things on his own. Injuries are running wild on New England's offense (which is especially true after Hunter Henry exited the game against the Miami Dolphins early on Sunday due to a foot injury), and to be fair, Maye has done a great job of elevating the offense and showing his value.
But that's also not sustainable. The Patriots need to support their young quarterback as much as they can, and if there is one thing we are learning right now, it's that New England might still need some additional depth in the receiving room.
And trading for Downs might be the answer.
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