It's common knowledge at this point that the Dallas Cowboys don't exactly boast the strongest secondary in the NFL. According to SÅ«mer Sports, the Cowboys rank dead last in the NFL in defensive EPA per pass, so Christian Parker has gotten off to a slow start in the main area he was tasked with turning around.
The Cowboys just acquired Joey Porter Jr. to be their new shutdown cornerback, but it takes a village on the back end. Shavon Revel Jr. has struggled, and Cobie Durant has been hurt, so Dallas may need to start tasking Caleb Downs with taking on more responsibility for this defense.
They also made Downs the highest-drafted safety since Jamal Adams, and they've utilized him as such. He's largely been a nickel cornerback, but he's been playing more safety since Jalen Thompson was placed on IR. They may need him as more of a nickel in Week 5.
Dallas is set to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, and this is a particularly important matchup for the rookie DB. Tampa Bay's best receiver is Emeka Egbuka, Downs' former Ohio State teammate, with whom he won a national championship.
Caleb Downs is the key to the Cowboys slowing down Emeka Egbuka
Rather than having Porter Jr. try to neutralize the second-year wideout, the Cowboys can try to slow him down by taking advantage of the knowledge of the defender who understands Egbuka's game the most: Caleb Downs, the same player who overlapped with him for a season in Columbus.
And given they spent an entire year practicing against one another on the best college football team in the nation back in 2024, they should be plenty familiar with each other's strengths and flaws. After all, iron sharpens iron, and both players pay enough attention to detail to elevate an entire unit.
Emeka Egbuka is off to a slow start in 2026, in large part due to the Bucs' erratic QB play, but he hasn't really taken the leap many expected. He's logged just one touchdown this year and has not recorded more than five receptions or 63 yards in a game. For reference, he had six games above that threshold last year.
It also doesn't help how he's being used. Egbuka is a slot receiver whom the Bucs moved to the outside after Mike Evans left in free agency, and he's struggled to adjust to the role without a future Hall of Famer taking attention off of him. And since he's a slot guy, a slot corner should guard him.
They would be better off rotating him and Chris Godwin in and out of the slot while rookie Ted Hurst III is the X receiver and. And when the 23-year-old is on the inside, it should be Downs on him.
Porter can shadow him when he's on the outside and key in on Hurst when Egbuka is in the slot. That way Parker has a concrete plan to slow the kid down that actively involves Downs.
The good news here is that the Bucs will start undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels since Baker Mayfield won't play due to a thumb injury, so Parker's defense should be fine either way. But it would be a mistake to not use Caleb Downs' history with Emeka Egbuka as their best chance of slowing him down.
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