Cowboys 2026 draft: S Caleb Downs

We continue our 2026 NFL Draft preview of draft prospects that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we are looking at safety Caleb Downs from Ohio State.

Caleb Downs

SFY
Ohio State
Junior
5-star recruit 
6’0”
205 lbs

History

Caleb Downs grew up in Hoschton, Georgia and became the do-everything star at Mill Creek High School, lining up all over the field and making plays as a tackler and ballhawk. He comes from a real football family and he’s the son of former NFL running back Gary Downs, and his older brother is NFL wide receiver Josh Downs. The brothers have a podcast called “Downs 2 Business”.

As a recruit, Downs was viewed as a rare clean safety prospect who looked smart, athletic, and already polished. He was awarded a five-star  recruit rating and was ranked the number one safety in the 2023 class. He committed to Alabama in July 2022 and joined the team in 2023. 

His freshman season at Alabama was impressive and he instantly played like an upperclassman. He notched 107 tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups, plus a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also added value as a returner which includes a punt-return touchdown.

In his second season Downs transferred to Ohio State and the production stayed elite while the role got even more versatile. He finished with 82 tackles, 7.5 TFL, one sack, two interceptions, and six PBUs, plus he was a weapon on punt returns with six returns for 98 yards and one touchdown. During the team’s playoff run Downs was instrumental in helping the team win a National Championship. Across the four playoff games he racked up 20 total tackles, two tackles for loss, three PBU’s, and one interception. 

His third season at Ohio State turned into the full trophy run. He made 68 tackles, five TFL, one sack, two interceptions, two PBUs, and two forced fumbles in 14 games. The accolades at the end of year came like a waterfall and Downs won every defensive and position award that year as well as All-America and first-team honours. During the three years playing college football, Downs never missed a single game due to injury. 

2025 Statistics

560 Defensive Snaps
5 Total Pressures
68 Total Tackles
5 TFL
1 Sack
2 PBU
2 INT
2 FF
63% Completion Allowed
47.9 Pass Rating Allowed
2 Penalties 

Snap by Postion

Defensive line: 5%
Box: 33%
Free Safety: 39%
Slot: 22%

NFL Combine/Pro Day

N/A

Awards

2023 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award
2023 SEC Freshman of the Year
2023 First-Team All-SEC
2023 Second-Team All-America 
2024 CFP National Championship
2024 Consensus All-America
2024 Tatum–Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year
2024 First-Team All-Big Ten
2025 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
2025 Consensus All-America
2025 Jim Thorpe Award
2025 Ronnie Lott Trophy
2025 First-team All-Big Ten

Scorecard

Overall– 93.8
Speed- 90
Acceleration- 96
Agility- 88
Strength- 82
Tackling- 81
Run Defense- 93
Man Coverage- 91
Zone Coverage- 95
Discipline- 94

THE GOOD

• Elite football IQ and fast processing.
• Reads concepts quickly, rarely takes false steps, and gets the defense lined up correctly.  
• True versatility. Can play deep safety, rotate into the slot, or drop into the box without the defense changing personnel.  
• High-end coverage ability by consistently staying in-phase, driving on routes, and closing throwing windows.  
• Explosive downhill trigger.
• Reliable, physical tackler.
• Great angles and leverage in run support.
• Takes smart paths to the ball and maintains outside leverage instead of getting washed.  
• Good ability to find the ball, finish at the catch point, and create takeaways.
• Calm under pressure.
• Shows good communication skills.
• Adds extra value on special teams.

THE BAD

• Not a big-body safety. He’s slightly undersized for a true box-enforcer profile and could benefit from adding strength and size.
• Size also comes with questions about durability at the NFL level.
• Can get too aggressive, this is easily his biggest weakness that has got him in trouble in the past.
• When he’s hunting for the big hit he can sometimes overrun angles in space.
• Tackling at full speed can be cleaner.
• Occasional eye-discipline lapses in zone.
• Will sometimes gamble for the takeaway.
• Can play a bit conservative on some reps.

THE FIT

Downs pretty much fits anywhere, but he’s best in a defense that lets him move around as a deep safety on one snap, slot or box the next. This way he can use his instincts, range, and tackling to erase mistakes. Put him in a split-safety or quarters-heavy scheme and he becomes the fixer who keeps big plays from happening while also creating turnovers.

SUMMARY

Downs is the kind of safety an NFL team can build around because he does a little bit of everything at a high level. He can play deep in the middle of the field and keep big plays from happening, but he can also move down closer to the line of scrimmage to help stop the run, cover tight ends, or blitz. What makes him special is how quickly he reads plays. He sees what the offense is trying to do, takes good angles to the ball, and usually arrives under control to finish tackles. He also communicates well, which matters because safeties often help line up the defense before the snap.

He’s not perfect. Because he’s aggressive and always around the ball, he can occasionally take a slightly risky angle or try to make the highlight play instead of the simple one. And while he’s physical, he isn’t a massive, old-school strong safety who lives in the box and just hits people all day. His best value is being moved around so he can use his speed and instincts. Overall, he looks like a day-one starter who can play in any system and make the whole defense more organized, faster, and harder to throw on.

COMPARISON

Eric Berry

BTB OVERALL GRADE

1st

CONSENSUS OVERALL RANKING

3rd
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services, including BTB)