North Carolina's Josh Downs has no predraft visits scheduled

Despite being considered a Day 2 prospect by many publications such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, The Ringer and Pro Football Focus, North Carolina wide receiver Josh Downs has zero pre-draft visits on his schedule. However, it may not be a bad sign.

On Thursday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Downs, a junior wideout for the Tar Heels, has no official visits set up in the pre-draft process. Rapoport calls this a "rarity," especially for a guy projected to go as high as Downs is.

Downs is currently ranked as the No. 40 overall prospect and WR6 according to Arif Hasan's 2023 NFL Draft Industry Consensus Big Board on Pro Football Network. The Georgia native is known for his quick feet and excellent route running skills, making up for his lack of size.

With a combined 2,664 yards and 19 touchdowns in his final two seasons in Chapel Hill, his lack of offseason buzz isn't due to a lack of production. According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, there may be another explanation: teams are comfortable with Downs as a prospect.

Breer says that often pre-draft visits can be a chance for teams to parse through prospects with "medical or character concern teams want to follow up on." With Downs' consistency in college and reliability as a prospect, teams might not feel he's worth bringing in for a visit. Former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Booger McFarland followed up on Breer's tweet in support of the theory.