Caleb Downs spent the past couple of years as part of the best defense in the country with the Ohio State Buckeyes’ secondary unit. Entering the Dallas Cowboys as the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft would feel like a culture shock to him. The team is coming off of the worst defensive season in its history, and they weren’t the only ones surprised by this. Downs, who is touted to be their next defensive anchor, also didn’t believe it.

“It was weird when I got there, we’re talking about the defense, and then I looked up how many points they gave up per game, and I was like ’30 points per game?’ I was like, ‘OK. We gotta do (something). We’re going to get it right. We got some people on defense,” Downs said during his recent appearance on the St. Brown podcast, with Amon-Ra St. Brown and former NFL receiver Equanimeous St. Brown.

After transferring from Alabama in 2024 when Nick Saban retired, Downs spent his final two seasons playing for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. Under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the Buckeyes had a few hiccups starting in 2024 but then found their footing.

They ended their CFP-winning campaign as the No. 1 scoring defense (12.9 points per game allowed), No. 1 total defense (254.9 yards per game allowed), No. 1 in yards per play allowed (4.19), and No. 3 in rushing defense (87.63 yards per game). In the 2025 season, after the Buckeyes lost Knowles to Penn State, Ohio State did one better.

They allowed only 9.3 points per game and 219.1 yards per game, which ranked No.1 in the FBS and were the lowest of any defense since Alabama’s 2011 season. But entering Dallas would hit different for Downs, who just learned their reality.

The Cowboys had a mediocre defensive performance with Matt Eberflus as the defensive coordinator. They finished the 2025 season allowing 30.1 points per game, the worst mark in the NFL and the league’s lowest-ranked scoring defense. Over the course of 17 games, the Cowboys gave up 511 points, setting a new franchise record and surpassing the previous mark of 473 points allowed in 2020.

The poor defensive performance led the Cowboys to fire Eberflus, bringing Christian Parker as the new defensive coordinator to lead a major defensive overhaul ahead of the 2026 season.

In his very first offseason, Parker has managed to make an impact. Caleb Downs particularly praised the work the DC has put in and expressed his excitement about the changes in the team from last season.

“Ninety percent of this defense and defensive staff has been turned over,” Downs said last week after the OTAs. “The guys we’ve brought in from coaches to players has been unbelievable. The scheme itself, you got to see around the league, a lot of people that run this same scheme have had unbelievable success.

“You have the Rams, (Broncos), Eagles, and the Seattle Seahawks kind of run a similar scheme, the New England Patriots kind of run a similar scheme. All of the top defenses in the league kind of run this scheme. I’m super excited with the way (Christian Parker) runs it, (how) meticulous he is, the details.”

The Cowboys have undergone a heavy defensive overhaul, with multiple free agency signings and trades, bringing in Rashan Gary, Dee Winters, P.J. Locke, and Jalen Thompson, while adding Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.

Having boasted one of the best offensive units last season, the Cowboys are heading into the season optimistic about a better defensive performance, with Parker set to implement a new defensive scheme. Downs, on the other hand, is expected to be one of the focal points during his rookie season as he has already impressed his coaches in Dallas.