When Dallas Cowboys rookie Caleb Downs was in college, he gave former Pittsburgh Steeler Chris Carter a teaser of what he could be like as a pro. Carter called the young safety over before a game and said that nobody apart from himself had worn the number better. But Downs gave him a small smile and said, “Until now.”

That attitude might be why Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones saw Dak Prescott in Downs. And it’s also why the quarterback is a confirmed fan of the budding star.

“How professional he is, how calm he is; quiet, yet confident,” Dak Prescott said on May 31, per the Dallas Morning News. “It’s contagious. You feel it. He’s a man who’s sure of who he is. When you are that way in this business, you know you can speak up, speak out. You can say things you believe and age doesn’t really matter, because you know you’re doing the right thing.

“He’s a guy that’s a leader just by the way that he carries himself and the way he approaches it,” Prescott said. “I know he’s leading that rookie class but he understands the way that the locker room goes and what it means to earn veterans’ trust and to get their respect. He’s a humble kid that’s coming in there each and every day, quiet and grinding.”

ARLINGTON, TX – NOVEMBER 27: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott 4 walks around after the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs on November 27, 2025 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA NOV 27 Chiefs at Cowboys EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon1692511272099That grit would easily remind those in the Cowboys building of a young Dak Prescott, who wasn’t even considered a QB1 option when he was drafted. A fourth-round pick, Prescott caught a break when Tony Romo was injured in 2016, and worked hard to become one of the best in the NFL. Jerry Jones used to undermine him as a rookie, but Prescott wanted to make him “eat [his] words,” he recalled in a podcast with Graham Bensinger.

No wonder the seasoned general manager found it easy to draw a parallel between the quarterback and the 21-year-old safety.

“He reminds me of Dak,” Jones told the press on May 30. “He’s a pied piper.”

Downs has been a hard worker from the get-go. When he was at Ohio State, he probably took a week and a half to memorize all the plays from Jim Knowles’ system. And when he met Dallas Cowboys defensive first met at his introductory visit to The Star in Frisco, his question to defensive coordinator Christian Parker was, “Where’s the playbook at? When can I get it?”

Prescott isn’t the only veteran in awe of Downs’ hard-nosed mentality and leadership skills. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said earlier in May that the safety showed up to work every day, ignoring the chatter around what could be a seminal year for Downs. The rookie is locked in on helping out his team any way he can.

“He’s here to ball out,” Overshown told team reporter Tom Yarrish. “When you’ve got those types of players on your team, you always got a chance on Sundays.”

Dallas fans know how bad the defense needs that chance. Last season, despite Dak Prescott’s offensive heroics, the defense let opponents walk all over the Cowboys. Never had this side of the ball played so badly in franchise history. The defense needs a leader, and it looks like Downs is the man for the job.

He is so ready to contribute that he had already begun analyzing defensive film of a few teams before the draft began. One of them was the Philadelphia Eagles’, which was designed by Parker. And like everyone else, even the now-Cowboys defensive coordinator is all praise about Downs.

Caleb Downs has already won over Cowboys staff

“He’s a natural football player,” Christian Parker said after the rookie minicamp. “He’s one of the first picks in the schoolyard. He’s going to have natural versatility. It’s a matter of what he can handle mentally and how we can fit everything together.”

As expected by many, Downs took reps at the nickel position. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer has already confirmed that he would line up at that position, but the rookie will make for a great DB regardless of where he is placed. While in college, he allowed zero touchdowns when targeted.

“I think it’s just being able to make plays in all facets of the game,” Parker had said about his fit. “Whether that’s near the line of scrimmage or in the deep part of the field, I feel like I could do it all and it’ll be a great relationship to be able to do that with the Cowboys.”

However, the Cowboys will still have the rookie learn the ropes before he gets to take command. Schottenheimer said that Caleb Downs will not be wearing the green dot and that responsibility will go to a linebacker. But in time, the safety could get that role. Given the leader that he already is, it shouldn’t take long.