It's been a big week for Josh Downs.
Ahead of his first NFL game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Downs was named the team's starting slot receiver on Tuesday's unofficial depth chart.
To discuss that and his highly-anticipated debut, Downs joined Matt Taylor and Bill Brooks on the Official Colts Podcast.
"[It's] a dream come true," Downs said. "First and foremost it's a blessing just being able to go out there, be healthy and be able to play with my teammates. I'm glad to be a part of the organization and I'm ready to kick this thing off for sure."
37 years ago, Brooks was in Downs' same position as he was preparing to suit up for his own NFL debut.
A fourth-round pick by the Colts during the 1986 NFL Draft, Brooks went on to play seven seasons with the team catching 411 passes for 5,818 yards and 28 touchdowns.
In 1998, he was the first Colts player to be inducted in the team's Ring of Honor.
Listen to Josh Downs' full interview and the fellas "confidence meter" going into the season in a few key areas for the Colts on the Official Colts Podcast, which you can listen to on:
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- YouTube
- Wherever you get your podcasts
Despite his success, Brooks admitted that it was an adjustment for him to deal with cornerbacks 'bump and run' technique early in his career.
Seeing a fair share of 'bump and run' himself during practice, Downs said he thinks he's found a way to counter that style of play.
"I go against Kenny Moore [II] every day and he's one of the best in the league at it, so it's helping me a lot," Downs said. "But I'd say just being more physical back as well – not letting them dictate when their hands are going to be put on you. Sometimes, you dictate it as well. And then just working on hands as well, getting dudes off of you because a lot of the defensive backs are gonna be bigger than me. There will be a few who are five-foot-9, five-foot-10 but a lot of them are going to be bigger than me, so I gotta be quicker than them off the release, stack them and then just be physical as well and use my quickness."
Downs will be able to test his quickness out this Sunday when he lines up against the Jaguars' defense.
Having watched an extensive amount of their film this week, Downs knows how good they can be, but he said he is up for the challenge.
"They got world-class players of course," Downs said. "They swarm the football a lot you see that on film. They got a lot of athletes in the secondary, play man-to-man coverage, play a lot of different coverages.
"They're a good group back there. They have a good group up front as well. I'm excited to go out there and compete, just see how I stack up with them and go make some plays. It's gonna be a fun game."
