Caleb Downs didn’t have to wait long for his first NFL motivation as two of the Cowboys’ biggest rivals handed it to him on draft night. The former Ohio State safety was supposed to be a top-10 prospect in his class. But for some reason, he was available at No. 11. The Dallas Cowboys traded up one spot from the No. 12 overall pick to desperately get him to bolster a defense that had a disappointing 2025 season. But this was only possible because the Cowboys’ two NFC East Rivals didn’t feel the need to select Downs in the first 10 picks. This particular information has seemingly ignited the “Boogeyman,” with his first order of business now centered on plotting payback against Dallas’ archrivals, according to head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

“Caleb actually mentioned that yesterday on the visit,” Schottenheimer said during an interview with the NFL Network. “He was like, I’m making mental notes, so we’re looking forward to those matchups against them.”

Brian Schottenheimer responded after reporters asked whether he needed to remind Downs that the New York Giants and Washington Commanders passed on him by drafting his Ohio State teammates Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles with the fifth and seventh overall picks, respectively. Additionally, the Giants passed on him a second time when they drafted Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at No. 10.

The reason? Both the Giants and the Commanders prioritized higher-value positions. In New York, General Manager Joe Schoen and Coach John Harbaugh rated Reese as their highest-rated non-quarterback. They were pretty fired up about that choice.

“Arvell is a versatile player, and we’re going to play him at inside backer, Will linebacker,” Harbaugh said. “Our defense is pretty flexible, position-less, you might call it. We’ll have an opportunity to move those guys around. But he’ll line up next to Tremaine (Edmunds), and he’ll be in the A gap, the B gap, the C gap, the D gap, off the edge. He’ll be moving around with all of our guys.”

That explains their No. 5 pick. But what happened in the following five picks?

“We stuck with the board,” said Schoen. “And Sisi’s another 20-year-old, believe it or not, he’ll be 21 in June, so we got two young players that we’re fired up about.”

Despite Downs still being available, the Giants chose to bolster their offensive line. However, the Giants hoped that they could trade back from No. 5 and pick up extra capital and still land Downs later. But that didn’t happen.

“We hoped,” Schoen said after the Giants drafted Reese. “But there weren’t a lot of scenarios that we went through where he may be available.”

For the Commanders, the reason was simple: they had a freak-athlete type preference, and Sonny Styles fit that mold better than Caleb Downs. Styles stands 6-foot-5 and 244 lbs., yet he ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. This makes him larger than receivers like DK Metcalf while being faster than players like CeeDee Lamb. Additionally, his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.99 ranked fourth among 3,480 linebackers graded since 1987.

On the contrary, evaluators saw Downs as the more complete football player, boasting a higher floor thanks to his elite processing, leadership, and instincts. That may well hold true. But those finer distinctions are unlikely to matter much to him, especially considering both Reese and Styles shared an unbeatable streak last year up until the Big Ten Championship.

Hence, based on Schottenheimer’s comment, Downs is ready to prove that both the Giants and the Commanders made a wrong choice by not picking him. And he surely can, as he was touted to be one of the most versatile defenders from the 2026 draft class after playing for three seasons of college ball for Alabama and Ohio State, and consistently improving each season.

Downs played 35% of his career defensive snaps as a box safety, 37% as a deep safety, and 23% as a slot corner while recording 38.5 ballhawks, as per The Power Sweep. Overall, Downs totaled 256 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, 16 pass deflections, and six interceptions. Thanks to these consistent efforts, he won the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back while being a two-time unanimous All-American.

In his two seasons at Ohio State, the new Cowboys safety did not allow a touchdown while making four interceptions and nine pass breakups. However, even though Downs may need to wait a few months to face his former teammates, a former Cowboy has already set an example that resonates with Caleb Downs’ need for revenge. Micah Parsons was a high draft pick (12th overall in 2021).

However, he famously became the third-defensive player selected, falling behind cornerbacks Jaycee Horn (No. 8, Panthers) and Patrick Surtain II (No. 9, Broncos). The Cowboys only selected him because Horn and Surtain were off the board. But little did anyone know that missing out on Parsons would be a huge blunder. Parsons became a 3x First-team All-Pro and a 5x Pro Bowler in his first five seasons.

Parsons has been highly productive against Carolina, recording 5.5 sacks in four career meetings. During his rookie-year game against the Broncos, Parsons still stood out despite the Cowboys’ 30–16 loss, recording 2.5 sacks to match his career-high at the time. Now, it seems like Caleb Downs is walking in that same path. There’s immense hope that he should immediately boost a defense that surrendered a franchise-record 511 points in 2025 and ranked 30th in yards allowed per game.

Furthermore, Downs was described by Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones as “a quarterback of the defense,” who can handle the workload at nickel, safety, and cornerback. While these are tall claims, the experts agree, especially based on ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.’s grade for America’s Team.

Mel Kiper Jr. praises the Cowboys for Caleb Downs selection

The Dallas Cowboys drafted seven players in the 2026 NFL draft with a focus on defense after their disappointing 2025 season. Leading this defensive reconstruction is Caleb Downs, who is considered the steal of the draft, a sentiment ESPN’s premier draft expert, Mel Kiper Jr., expressed as he handed America’s Team an “A” grade for their efforts in Pittsburgh.

“This kid may not be Kyle Hamilton, who’s 6-4, 220, but pound for pound, one of the best football players you will ever find,” Mel Kiper said. “Like I said, he is an alpha. I thought even at No. 2 for the Jets it would have made sense because he will change the culture, and nobody on defense needs that more than the Dallas Cowboys.”

Caleb Downs looks like an ideal fit for the Cowboys at the right time. After parting ways with Jourdan Lewis, last season’s nickel corner, few in Dallas anticipated just how quickly the defense would feel his absence. DaRon Bland’s recurring injuries only complicated the search for a replacement, and while Reddy Stewart earned praise for his toughness and versatility, his struggles in run coverage remained a lingering concern.

That’s when the importance of a proven nickel player became necessary at Dallas. Downs is a high-impact big nickel who can easily switch between a cornerback, safety, and linebacker depending on the game’s needs. That’s why Mel Kiper described him as an “extension of the defensive coordinator” on the field. Hence, the quest for him wasn’t easy. Analysts considered the NY Giants the biggest threat.

As soon as they picked Francis Mauigoa at No. 10, Jerry Jones quickly made a call to the Miami Dolphins, who had the No. 11 pick. Jones traded up and gave them the Cowboys’ 12th pick and two fifth-round picks (no. 177 and no. 180). This was a desperate move. After Sonny Styles and Mansoor Delane got off the board, Dallas couldn’t risk losing Downs. 

This marked the first time in 14 years that the Cowboys had traded up in the first round, since 2012 when they traded from pick No. 14 to No. 6 to select cornerback Morris Claiborne.