As a true freshman at Alabama, safety Caleb Downs led the SEC in solo tackles, earning the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2023. He followed that up with two consecutive Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year awards with Ohio State, earned the Lott Trophy, and the Jim Thorpe Award. But even after multiple accolades and a shiny resume, the rumors circling Caleb at the 2026 NFL Combine didn’t stop, forcing the safety to set the record straight once and for all. 

At the Combine, Downs had notably opted out of the physical drills, focusing instead on his medical and team interviews. Cory Kinnan of Daft on Draft reported in early March that an NFC scout had flagged Downs for a partially torn meniscus and a potentially degenerative ACL during his medicals. But at his pro day, Downs addressed it all head-on.

“That’s not what my medical said, so, it is what it is,” Downs said in an interview. “I’m just going to continue to do me. I can’t control that or what people say.”

The report of a degenerative ACL had come from a single unnamed scout. Teams already reluctant to spend a top-ten pick at safety suddenly had a medical cover to lean on. But when Pat McAfee went directly to the teams who’d reviewed Downs’ medicals, he found something different.

“Multiple NFL teams have told us there is nothing in the medical that would deter us from bringing Caleb Downs in, especially with how great of a football player he is,” McAfee said on the Pat McAfee Show.

Caleb’s film certainly reinforces his draft stock. He posted an 86.9 PFF overall grade in 2025, his third straight year grading above 85. He finished his college career with 257 tackles, 10 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, and 6 picks across three seasons. Downs also became the 2024 CFP national champion and earned back-to-back All-American honors.

Even NFL.com’s scouting report labeled him “an alpha who brings immense juice on each snap.” That profile maps directly onto what the Dallas Cowboys’ owner and general manager, Jerry Jones, needs for 2026.

The 2025 Cowboys didn’t just have a bad defense; they had the worst rankings. Ranked 30th in overall defense, Dallas allowed a league-high 59 touchdowns and finished dead last in pass defense, giving up 251.5 yards per game through the air. 

The new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, inherits that wreckage for 2026. But Parker has already signaled a shift to a “multiple” scheme back in February to fix the defense.

“The first thing is we’re going to be multiple,” Parker said. “I think that whenever you form a defensive structure, it’s about the players that you have. So our core principles, we’ll be a 3-4 by nature, but 4-3 spacing will be appropriate, 4-2-5 in nickel, different front structures, coverages behind it.”

Now, a defense that finished last won’t fix itself with just a scheme change alone. It needs the right personnel to execute it. And that’s exactly the gap Caleb Downs can help close for Dallas.

Dallas’ draft window for Downs

The Cowboys hold the 12th overall pick in the 2026 Draft. Caleb Downs, meanwhile, was the second-best safety at the Combine with a total score of 84 per Next Gen Stats. Whether Downs remains on the board till Dallas gets its turn to pick is the real question. But NFL Network’s draft analyst Daniels Jeremiah, thinks there’s hope.

“I would not give up hope on Downs (for Dallas),” Jeremiah said on 105.3 The Fan recently. “…I do think Caleb Downs, that one I would not put that to rest just yet.”

Jeremiah pointed to a clear pattern in the league. Derwin James fell to 17th in 2018 before the Los Angeles Chargers got him. Kyle Hamilton dropped to 14th in the 2022 Draft and has suited up for the Baltimore Ravens ever since. Safeties get pushed down draft boards with regularity, with offensive players generally getting the first picks. Additionally, Jeremiah also acknowledged the downside of Caleb Downs.

“With Downs you’re looking at someone who’s not big, he’s under six feet, he’s a little over 200 pounds,” Jeremiah said. “He’s got short arms. He doesn’t have a ton of splash plays.”

Those are legitimate notes. But a safety who grades above 85 on PFF for three straight seasons and ran Ohio State’s national championship defense is not short on production. The lack of “splash plays” might have tanked his draft stock a little. But with Dallas waiting at a favorable No. 12, there’s a real chance of Downs heading to the Star.

The medical scare gave skeptics a reason to hesitate, but Caleb Downs answered it. And the Dallas Cowboys may be the ones who listened after all.