With the trade deadline looming, nobody knows whether or not the Atlanta Falcons are going to be buyers or sellers on Nov. 10. Right now, they're 3-4 and are right in the thick of the NFC South race, but momentum is at an all-time high following the upset victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
They just handed the 49ers their first loss of the season, and the Falcons have proven that they have the talent to go toe-to-toe with anybody. So how aggressively they attack the deadline will tell us a lot about this new regime and how real the chances of this eight-year playoff drought being broken are.
However, the Indianapolis Colts are a vastly different story. After three straight losses, the Colts are sitting at 2-5 and just fired longtime general manager Chris Ballard, so they're bracing for a deadline sale that has already begun after they have already traded DeForest Buckner back to San Francisco and Quenton Nelson to Seattle.
The common trend with the moves the Colts have made is they've been trading the guys on expiring deals, and after both Adam Schefter and Jordan Schultz reported that fourth-year WR Josh Downs was likely to be next, it came out that he was requesting a trade--and he's a more logical deadline target for Atlanta than Nelson or Buckner would've been.
Sources: Colts WR Josh Downs is requesting a trade from Indianapolis. pic.twitter.com/rwGaVGMTFf
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 28, 2026
First-year general manager Ian Cunningham has already made his fair share of trades, but very intentional about when he chooses to strike. So Downs being available could be a chance for the Falcons to add additional wide receiver depth in the form of a young player who is available.
The Atlanta Falcons should be all over a possible Josh Downs trade at the deadline
As we all know, the Dirty Birds already have a myriad of talent on offense. Bijan Robinson. Drake London. Jahan Dotson. Kyle Pitts. Zachariah Branch. On paper, how much more does this offense need? Frankly, not much, but Downs could be the piece that takes this offense over the top.
There's no doubt that the 25-year-old is a more reliable pass-catcher than Olamide Zaccheus, so Downs would step in as the starting slot receiver from Day 1--and given he's a smooth route runner and a good separator, he could be something of a safety valve for Michael Penix Jr. over the middle.
Acquiring the former third-round pick would allow the Dirty Birds to cut bait on Zaccheus and turn Branch, who is starting to make a case for more playing time, into a situational WR4, which would be a more ideal role for his skillset since they can still scheme up touches for him when he comes in.
Josh Downs is one of those players who can elevate an offense, but because he's been stuck on a Daniel Jones-led Colts team, his abilities have never really been showcased in a better offense. He's one of the NFL's more underrated wideouts and is even as a true slot, is a young piece any WR-needy team should want.
Unfortunately, Cunningham isn't one to just burn draft capital to make a trade, but he's proven to be willing to trade for a player in a contract year and extend them like with Gervon Dexter Sr.--but with how much league-wide interest is supposedly following the North Carolina product, I can't imagine he wants to get into a bidding war.
On paper, the Atlanta Falcons would be a perfect landing spot for Josh Downs, so hopefully they're the team that's able to capitalize on the Colts' deadline sale and bring him in, though it's unclear how likely this is exactly.
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