Josh Downs

#11 · WR · Jr. · North Carolina5′10″ · 175 lb · Suwanee, GA · North Gwinnett

Josh Downs: WR · North Carolina · #11.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Wan'Dale RobinsonKentucky · 2021 · 77% season match
Malachi ToneyMiami · 2025 · 74% season match
Jahan DotsonPenn State · 2021 · 67% season match
Zay FlowersBoston College · 2022 · 67% season match
Josh JohnsonTulsa · 2021 · 64% season match

Josh Downs

WR · North Carolina · Jr · #11

Wins underneath on volume and route precision. Third year in the same receiving corps at North Carolina. All-ACC in 2022 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 166 receiving yards and 15 receptions against Virginia — Week 10, 2022.

Style of play

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

North Carolina in the news

Gregory Kirwan commits to UNC247Sports Nov 3
Top-ranked wing commits to CarolinaOct 30
NC State fires Dave DoerenOct 29
Fran Brown names UNC QB1Syracuse.com Oct 22

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2022	North Carolina	94	1,029	10.9	11	43
2021	North Carolina	101	1,335	13.2	8	63
2020	North Carolina	7	119	17.0	3	75
Career		202	2,483	12.3	22	75

Season	Team
2022	North Carolina	--	--	133
2021	North Carolina	--	--	149
2020	North Carolina	1	−3	--
Career		1	−3	282

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2022 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 56-24vs Florida A&M	9	78	8.7	2	27	2 TD catches
Wk 4	L 32-45vs Notre Dame	5	32	6.4	2	14	2 TD catches
Wk 5	W 41-10vs Virginia Tech	8	120	15.0	0	33
Wk 6	W 27-24@ Miami	6	69	11.5	1	22
Wk 7	W 38-35@ Duke	9	126	14.0	0	38
Wk 9	W 42-24vs Pittsburgh	11	102	9.3	2	25	2 TD catches
Wk 10	W 31-28@ Virginia	15	166	11.1	1	32	Season-high 166 yds
Wk 11	W 36-34@ Wake Forest	11	154	14.0	3	43	3 TD catches
Wk 12	L 17-21vs Georgia Tech	3	31	10.3	0	25
Wk 13	L 27-30vs NC State	6	51	8.5	0	15
Wk 14	L 10-39vs No. 10 Clemson	11	100	9.1	0	28
Total		94	1029	10.9	11	43

Signature game

Week 11 · 2022

W 36-34

at Wake Forest

11 rec · 154 yds · 3 TD

Edged out Wake Forest on the road in a shootout.

With D. Maye — 448 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 83.3 · 71 rush yds (19 car) · 1 TD · B. Kiernan — 41.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 1 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 5 · Virginia Tech · 2nd and 14 · Q3 · EPA +3.51Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 33 yds Josh Downs fumbled, recovered by NCaro Gavin Blackwell for a
Week 5 · Virginia Tech · 4th and 7 · Q2 · EPA +3.37Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 24 yds to the VTech 19 for a
Week 10 · Virginia · 3rd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +3.28Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 19 yds for a TD, (Noah Burnette KICK)
Week 6 · Miami · 4th and 9 · Q2 · EPA +3.12Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 22 yds to the MiaFl 15 for a
Week 7 · Duke · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.02Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 38 yds to the Duke 1 for a
Week 4 · Notre Dame · 4th and 4 · Q1 · EPA +2.98Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 4 yds for a TD, (Noah Burnette KICK)

4 more plays

Week 11 · Wake Forest · 3rd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +2.88Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 12 yds to the WFrst 38 for a
Week 6 · Miami · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.88Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 15 yds for a TD, (Noah Burnette KICK)
Week 10 · Virginia · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.85Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 32 yds to the Virg 24 for a
Week 10 · Virginia · 3rd and 9 · Q2 · EPA +2.84Drake Maye pass complete to Josh Downs for 11 yds to the Virg 47 for a

Teams and coaches

3 seasons under Mack Brown — 23-16 over that span.

2020North Carolina8-4HC: Mack Brown · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2021North Carolina6-7HC: Mack Brown · Run-leaning

2022North Carolina9-5HC: Mack Brown · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 87 (#13 of 488). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2022 season

87All-Conference level #13 of 488 · 2022?

11 metrics · season cumulative

2022 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: receptions (99th percentile). Strength: rec tds (98th percentile). Concern: yards / catch (24th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#169 / 636 · 74th pct

9.5%

Catch rate#265 / 636 · 58th pct

81.0%

EPA / target#313 / 636 · 51st pct

0.70

Explosive rate#322 / 636 · 49th pct

12.9%

Yards / catch#424 / 636 · 33rd pct

10.9

Box-score rates (6)

Receptions#6 / 550 · 99th pct

Rec TDs#7 / 550 · 98th pct

Rec yards#26 / 550 · 95th pct

1029

Fumbles lost#1 / 223 · 84th pct

Long catch#338 / 550 · 37th pct

Yards / catch#414 / 550 · 24th pct

10.9

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

48th → 51st percentile

Explosive rate

56th → 49th percentile

Catch rate

38th → 58th percentile

TD rate

48th → 74th percentile

Yards / catch

59th → 33rd percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2022. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2022 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	7.0	69.0	9.7	1.0
Road4g	10.2	129	12.7	1.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	7.4	85.0	11.1	1.0
Weeks 8+6g	9.5	101	10.4	1.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2022 season

Head Coach

Mack Brown

Pass share

51.3%

523 pass / 497 run

Plays / game

72.9

14 games

Team sack rate

7.5%

575 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2022

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

87 · #13 of 488 WRs · 2022

Former four-star. Now #13 at the position.

Josh Downs

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

North Carolina in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

All-Conference 1st team

Three seasons at North Carolina, drafted

2020 3 games

2021 12 games

2022 11 games

2023