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INDIANAPOLIS – The hiccup
Colts area scout Chad Henry loves to come up with nicknames for the draft prospects he’s evaluating.
He’s pretty proud of the one he came up with new Colts receiver Josh Downs.
Why is Downs the hiccup?
“He’s quick as a hiccup and your only chance to get rid of him is to drink some water, sit on the bench and hope he goes away,” Henry says, proudly.
There are definitely some opponents of Downs who would probably nod their head at such a description.
As a fan of the Miami Hurricanes, Reggie Wayne certainly would.
Downs torched the ACC as a slot receiver, catching 195 balls for 2,364 yards and 19 touchdowns over the last two seasons.
“He’s a playmaker,” Henry says of Downs. “We don’t have a whole lot of guys like him. He’s sort of a human chain mover. Good luck covering him in a short area.”
To take Henry’s comments a step further, the Colts have not had a player with Downs’ college production and skillset in quite some time.
On paper, Downs appears to be the ideal slot receiver complement to what the Colts have in Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce.
Due to a knee injury, Downs’ time on the field this past spring was limited in the amount of reps, but the glimpses looked very reminiscent of what we saw at UNC.
There was Anthony Richardson and Downs having a strong early connection during rookie minicamp, with Downs easily creating space in those short areas of the field, serving as a reliable option for the 4th overall pick.
Back at the Combine in February, with Chris Ballard glued to the quarterbacks working out at Lucas Oil Stadium, Reggie Wayne couldn’t help but share something with his GM.
“I was watching the quarterbacks down on the field throw and Reggie came over and said, ‘Man, this Josh Downs. It was incredible,’” Ballard recalls.
“And (Downs) did, he had a great workout. You can see, he’s got a powerful lower body. Even though he’s 171 pounds, when you see his lower body he’s got really thick thighs and quads. So, he’s got some strength in his lower body and power in his lower body.”
“We wanted to add more speed (at receiver). His size at the end of the day really didn’t matter, but he is a good complement to what we have.”
And if Henry is right, Colts opponents need to start drinking that water to get ready for No. 1 in the blue and white.
Colts scouts take: Anthony Richardson
