Josh Downs or Rashee Rice: Who should I start in Week 12 fantasy football?

Wide receiver is a tough position to get right in fantasy football and two players causing headaches for managers are Josh Downs and Rashee Rice. It's Week 12 and fantasy football is in a critical phase of the season where wins and losses are magnified. As such, all elements of your roster need to be analyzed to give you the best chance of victory.

With neither of these receivers inspiring complete confidence, let's look at their fantasy outlooks in Week 12, starting with Downs.

Is Josh Downs a good pick in Week 12?

Josh Downs' Week 12 fantasy football outlook

The Indianapolis Colts are set to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game that is difficult to predict. The Colts have been very up-and-down this season and are coming off a bye week. Prior to that, they managed a 10-6 win against the New England Patriots, which doesn't inspire confidence in fantasy football.

On the season, Downs has recorded 43 receptions for 523 yards and 2 touchdowns, which is good for 85.80 points in HPPR leagues. Those are solid numbers but not ideal for fantasy football.

Downs had a breakout game in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns (125 yards, 1 TD, 21.00 points HPPR), but otherwise has struggled. He has not scored a touchdown in his last three games and has not put up the kind of points to warrant starting him with confidence (1.50 & 5.00 HPPR in his last two games).

The Buccaneers are ranked 29th against WRs this season, allowing 40.12 points per game to the position in HPPR leagues. This suggests that although Josh Downs is not the WR1 in Indianapolis, he might be a good pick in Week 12.

Is Rashee Rice a good pick in Week 12?

Rashee Rice's Week 12 fantasy football outlook

The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to face the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC West showdown. This is a game the Chiefs are expected to win, however, with their receivers being in the headlines for dropping the most passes this season there is reason for concern.

Rashee Rice has recorded 36 receptions for 420 yards and 4 touchdowns this season, good for 83.70 points in HPPR leagues. Rice has shown himself to be the only WR in Kansas City worth having in fantasy football, but he has yet to really hit his stride and break out. Rice has broken the 10-point barrier only three times (HHPR) and is yet to record 15 points in a game.

The Raiders are ranked 12th against WRs this season and have allowed an average of 31.14 points to the position in HPPR leagues. This middling statistic doesn't offer much guidance in deciding to start Rashee Rice, but he is a key component in Kansas City's passing game, which certainly counts for something.

Josh Downs or Rashee Rice: Which one's the right call?

Using Sportskeeda's Start/Sit tool, you can analyze the projections for both players. The tool takes into account a variety of factors including player form, team trends and strength of opposition. Let's take a look:

Week 12 fantasy football outlooks for Josh Downs and Rashee Rice

The tool suggests you should start Rashee Rice over Josh Downs in Week 12 and also offers a breakdown as to why.

Week 12 fantasy football outlooks for Josh Downs and Rashee Rice

The tool suggests that while there is very little difference between them, neither are expected to put up big points this week. For reference, Rice is projected 10.6 points and Downs 9.90 points in PPR leagues.

Realistically, given Downs' overall numbers this season and poor performances over the last two weeks, he presents too much of a risk to start due to his low floor. While Rice has battled to receive a lot of volume in Kansas City's offense, he has more touchdowns (4) than Downs (2) and is more likely to find the end zone in Week 12. If you have to start one, go with Rice.