The Dallas Cowboys needed to change the face of their defense. And despite head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s draft pure strategy, Jerry Jones pulled off a trade – his 74th ever – to do just that. Caleb Downs was one of the defensive players on the Cowboys’ board, but the first pick the team had was at No. 12, while Downs was projected to be a top ten pick. But with other teams preferring a high-value position, it pushed him out of those top slots.

Seeing their turn to add a difference maker, Jones got to work. As much as Downs was happy about finally being off the board, though, the best player (might I say) in this draft class is not forgetting the teams that gave up on him. So, while the Cowboys will be relying on his versatility and DC Christian Parker’s 3-4 defense, they wouldn’t need an outside motivator to push the Ohio State alum.

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

Eisen had asked Schottenheimer whether he would need to remind Downs that the New York Giants and Washington Commanders passed on him. The two teams drafted his Ohio State teammates Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles with the fifth and seventh overall picks, respectively. The Giants still had a shot at the safety, but drafted Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. However, the reasoning matters.

Safety is a low-value position in the NFL. Adding to that is their shirking value by the year, as the NFL defenses need guys to stay back in two-high shells and not mess things up for everyone else. Playmaking and special ability simply aren’t as valuable. But now, the same player will get to play against these teams twice every season to add more fuel to the fire among the divisional rivals.

In New York, General Manager Joe Schoen and Coach John Harbaugh rated Reese as their highest-rated non-quarterback. He is a versatile player who is likely to play as an inside linebacker.

“Our defense is pretty flexible, position-less, you might call it. We’ll have an opportunity to move those guys around,” Harbaugh said. “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.”

But it isn’t like the Giants were avoiding Downs completely. They just didn’t want him as their top ten pick.

“We stuck with the board. 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.

“We hoped. But there weren’t a lot of scenarios that we went through where he (Downs) may be available.”

The reasoning was much deeper for the Commanders.

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 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, Downs is ready to prove that both the Giants and the Commanders made a mistake by not picking him. And he surely can after being touted as one of the most versatile defenders from the 2026 draft class. The numbers back it up:

He played for three seasons of college ball for Alabama and Ohio State, and consistently improved each season. He 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.

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, an ex-Cowboy has already set an example that resonates with Caleb Downs’ need for revenge: Micah Parsons, the high draft pick (12th overall in 2021).

Caleb Downs could follow Micah Parsons’ example

Parsons 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 three-time First-team All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowler in his first five seasons.

He 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. Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones already described him 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. 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. 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. But all is well that ends well!