This is moving FAST... Patriots trade incoming

One of Drake May's old college teammates just asked for a trade. That player? Josh Downs. ESPN's Jimmy Fowler reports that Colts receiver he wants out, and there are points that the Patriots are one of the teams interested. But here's why that matters. Through seven games this season, not one Patriots receiver has gone for 100 yards in a game, zero of them. And alongside that, Downs by himself has 307 receiving yards, which is more than anyone on the Patriots roster. So is Josh Downs the perfect fit for this offense, and what exactly would it cost? Well, we'll tell you all of that in today's show. Let's start with what we know. On Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that Downs is requesting a trade. Fowler wrote, quote, Downs has garnered trade interest from multiple teams, but a deal hasn't materialized yet. Downs didn't deny it. Asked if he requested a trade, he said, quote, I'm open to whatever. Whatever comes my way comes my way. Now, let's be clear on this, because the request has come from ESPN's reporting. Downs has not confirmed it himself, and nobody has reported a deal with the Patriots. But there is a real interest. A report from Josh Taylor says that the Raiders, Jaguars, Patriots, Chiefs, Rams, and 49ers are all interested in the wide receiver. And you can see why he would want out. The Colts are 2-5, they fire general manager Chris Ballard, and this week they traded Quentin Nelson to Seattle and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to San Francisco. Downs is 25 years old, and this is the last year of his rookie contract at $4.2 million against the cap, and he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season. For the Colts, that makes him the easiest sell on the board. And that's not like he's a spare part. Alec Pierce has barely played this season, so Downs has been the Colts' main receiving threat. If he goes, Indianapolis loses its best receiver on a team that's already 2-5. Now, while the Patriots stand 4-3, they try to get to a fifth win on Sunday as they take on the Dolphins. And on Couchy, the Patriots are at 75% to beat Miami on Sunday at 425 p.m. Eastern Time. Speaking of Couchy, that is today's sponsor of the video. On Couchy, you're trading directly against other users, not the house like a traditional sportsbook. You're buying yes-or-no contracts and the outcome of events across sports, politics, or even the weather. For example, I'm trading on the Patriots to win by more than 7.5 points on Sunday in an $80 trade that pays out to $167.576. If you're interested in trying out our presenting sponsor, Kalshi, use the link in the description or in the pinned comment, and when new users sign up with the code DIGESTNFL and trade $25, you're going to get an extra $55 instantly added into your account. Thank you, Kalshi, for sponsoring today's show. Now the part that makes him fun, and we've talked about it already on this show. Drake May knows him. Downs and May overlapped at North Carolina in 2022 when both were starters. That season, May's first full year as a Tar Heel starter, Downs caught 94 passes for 1,029 yards and a career-high 11 TDs. While chemistry isn't a stat you're going to find on any ESPN stat sheet, it's something important, and a receiver who already knows the quarterback's moves in the pocket and where he likes to put the ball, it's worth something to a team that is trying to find its rhythm here. And May doesn't need much help getting the ball out. Through seven games, he's got 1,700-plus passing yards and 13 touchdowns, and still not one of his receivers has hit that 100-yard mark in a game. And of course, timing matters as well. May is still on his rookie contract with a cap in of just $10 million this season and $11.7 million next season. That's a quarterback this good on a number that small. The Patriots are in a window where you are supposed to spend on the people around him, and you can do so with a trade here. So what's the problem? Well, let's look at the receivers. The Patriots' leading receiver by yards is tied in Hunter Henry with .296. Next, Romeo Dobbs at .261. He's on injured reserve. Then it's Pop Douglas at .256. A.J. Brown has missed four games with a high ankle sprain and hasn't been productive over the last two weeks. Matt Collins is on the injured reserve, too. And Pop Douglas has had fewer than 40 receiving yards in five of the team's seven games. Put it all together and you have the Patriots who have gone now seven games without a single 100-yard receiver. The last one who did so was Stephon Diggs back last year in Week 17 against the Jets where he went for 101 yards and obviously he's in the Commanders now. And look at who's getting the ball. Pop Douglas leads the team with 34 targets, Henry has 31, and running back Ramondre Stevenson has 24, the same as Romeo Dobbs. A running back is tied for third on the team in targets, and he has 204 receiving yards, fifth on the roster. Now, considering how much Drake May throws the ball, adding an elite tier wide receiver alongside Dobbs and A.J. Brown, where they're both healthy, makes this team very, very scary. So that's the hole. It's not that May can't play, it's that nobody is giving him that big game. If you want more Patriots deadline breakdowns like this as we head to a trade deadline on November 10th, subscribe to the channel. It's free and it's the best way to help us. So what would the Patriots actually be getting? Downs is a slot receiver. NextGenStats has him with 153 routes from the slot this season, the most of any receiver. And he has 231 receiving yards from the slot, fifth amongst receivers. Through 7 games, he has 26 catches on 46 targets for 307 yards. That's a team high for the Colts, and our own data has 22% of his targets going 20 or more yards downfield, 10.7 air yards on average. He's also not a player who needs a big day to matter. In 4 seasons, he has 2 games over 100 yards, 125 against the Browns in 23, and 109 against the Texans in 24. He moves the chains, the Patriots need that, and they need someone who can break one open. Now we do have to be honest as it's not all good with downs. He has zero touchdowns this season. In Week 7, he caught two passes for just 18 yards. And he's a slot receiver, just like Pop Douglas, who we already have on the roster. Downs has more yards, but Douglas has three touchdowns to his zero and gets more separation on his targets. So, no, this isn't a clean upgrade, but it's about pushing for the job. And of course, the Patriots, they're not the only ones that are calling on this. Jordan Schultz reported that multiple AFC teams are interested, including the Steelers. And Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fitzpato said that the Steelers GM should be, quote, on the phone for this trade. The Rams are being talked about, too. Writer Cameron De Silva called Downs, quote, a perfect fit at the Rams wide receiver slot. And ESPN's Fowler reported that the Chiefs appear poised to make a move at the receiver at the deadline as well. Not to mention the Raiders, Jaguars, Chiefs, Rams, and 49ers from Josh Taylor's list. That's a lot of teams. When there are that many people calling, well, guess what? A late pick could get outbid. And think about where everybody is. The Steelers are 6-2 and still one help of a receiver. The Patriots 4-3, right behind Buffalo at 5-1 in the AFC East. Every team in that race is shopping, and it's the same counter. Even Downs knows it could be out of his hands. He said, quote, You could end up getting traded where you don't know you're getting traded. So can the Patriots even afford him, and what would it cost? Spotrack has the Patriots at $6.1 million in cap space. Downs' cap hit is $4.2 million. So yes, they can fit him with about $1.9 million to spare. But the picks, they own all of their picks in the first four rounds of 2027, plus a fifth from the Bears, and three sixths, then a seventh. What they don't have is a 2028 first. That went to Philadelphia for A.J. Brown. While nobody has come out and reported a price for downs, the Colts have no GM. They're two and five. His deal runs out of the season. I don't see this being a high pick to go out there and grab him. My number is a 2027 fifth round pick, the one that they got from the Bears. If the Chiefs or Rams want to push it, maybe you can give them a fifth and a sixth, but that's my guess. It's not really a report. And here's the line, a fifth. I'm in. Even a fifth and a sixth, I'm in. But if it climbs to a third round pick, I'm probably at that point. For a 25-year-old slot receiver on an expiring deal, with no touchdowns when you already have Demario Douglas, I just think that's too much to give up at that point. The upside is that he's expiring, though. The Patriots would have a few months to find out if he's worth an extra extension, and they'd be only at a late pick if he isn't. So, perfect fit for the Patriots? Well, let's put the case all in one place. We obviously know the quarterback fit is real. The need is there, and of course, the cap situation can work. What holds back is the overlap with Pop Douglas and a crowd of teams calling for him. The Patriots have a bunch of wide receivers. They just don't have that guy, but at the same time, they have been on the field with A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs for a combined, like, 40 snaps. A trade like this never looks big on deadline day. Nobody puts a banner on it. But if May finally has someone who gets open for him inside, that's the kind of fifth round pick that changes a Sunday. And right now, every Sunday is going to matter in the AFC East. So, bottom line, would you trade a fifth for Josh Downs? Absolutely. He already knows him. You don't have a receiver this season with a 100-yard game. Josh Downs, even with as bad a game as he had had this season, has still more receiving yards than anybody on the Patriots staff. I have yet to see what I've wanted to see out of A.J. Brown. Romeo Dobbs is hurt. Mack Hollins is hurt. I know that Douglas is the same type of player, but at the end of the day, he's also a free agent coming up into the season. You can make a decision on who you want to extend and have a plethora of options moving forward. But I want your take as well. Would you trade a fifth-round pick for Josh Downs? Let us know in the comments section with a why for yes or an in for no. Because the clock is running. The trade deadline is November 10th at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, just 11 days from today. For now, guys, I will see you in the next one, and peace out.