Tyler Lockett or Josh Downs: Who should I start in Week 5 Fantasy Football?

The Indianapolis Colts escaped with a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday despite starting quarterback Anthony Richardson going down with a hip injury. Joe Flacco took his place and kept things going, crediting Josh Downs with pulling off some plays to steady the ship and see the Colts through.

Going up against the Steelers defense is not for the faint-hearted but given the Colts managed to pick up a win, Week 5's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars should be a lot more promising for Josh Downs.

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts - Source: Imagn

Josh Downs fantasy outlook for Week 5

The Anthony Richardson experience has been a pretty interesting one. Richardson clearly has a cannon for an arm and showcased that but there's a lot he needs to work on. He was pretty impressive before injuring his hip in Week 4 and said he felt ready enough to suit up this week against Jacksonville.

Regardless if he plays, Downs had a main-man showing against Pittsburgh. He had eight catches on nine targets (tied with Michael Pittman) for 82 yards and a touchdown. He had a 30% target share, so even if Richardson is not back this week, the Colts offense could turn to Downs more often than not.

We like where Downs is at, fantasy-wise, especially given the fact that Jacksonville needs to tidy up a number of things before they take on Indianapolis.

Tyler Lockett fantasy outlook for Week 5

Through four weeks of football, we're seeing Lockett get fairly involved in the Seahawks' scheme of things. In Week 4, he had a season-high nine targets, hauling in five of those for 61 yards.

Those are okay-ish numbers but here are two things that stand in the way.

1] Lockett was a limited participant earlier this week owing to a thigh injury. We expect him to suit up against the New York Giants, but it's certainly something to keep an eye on.

2] Lockett still doesn't have a touchdown through four weeks of football.

Given both DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba have continued to contribute meaningfully this year, it's difficult to see Lockett rack up too many points in this WR3 role.

Tyler Lockett or Josh Downs: Final verdict

Sportskeeda's Start/Sit Optimizer is a little higher on Lockett this week but we'll have to agree to disagree here.

Tyler Lockett vs Josh Downs fantasy projection for Week 5

Downs was Flacco's go-to man against the Steelers and the Jacksonville matchup is just a little more enticing to deliver points this week.