For whatever reason, the league continues to let tremendous football players slide out of the top 10 in the NFL Draft because they play safety. It happened with Derwin James in 2018, Kyle Hamilton in 2024, and again with Caleb Downs on Thursday night.
John Harbaugh and the Giants passed on Downs twice, while Dan Quinn and the Commanders preferred Downs' Ohio State teammate Sonny Styles. The Chiefs, meanwhile, opted to trade up for LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
It all set the stage for the Dallas Cowboys to snatch Downs at pick No.11, launching the Christian Parker era in style. It didn't take long for Downs to leave an impression on Jerry Jones, who welcomed Downs to Cowboys headquarters on Friday.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on first-round pick Caleb Downs: “He reminds me of Dak. He does. He’s a pied piper.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 25, 2026
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says Caleb Downs reminds him of Dak Prescott
Praise doesn't get much higher than that.
Jones has often coined Prescott the best leader he's ever been around. That is a massive statement, considering that Jones has owned the franchise for 37 years and oversaw three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s.
Prescott's leadership is truly second to none. He leads by example with his work ethic, but also isn't afraid to hold teammates accountable without calling them out publicly. He takes pride in building relationships with every coach and player in the locker room. And it's all authentic, which is why players want to follow him into battle every single Sunday.
A front office hyping a first-round pick is nothing new, but leadership is one of Downs’ defining traits. One visit to The Star was all it took for that to resonate. It’s as simple as this: Downs gets "it." That's all there really is to it.
There’s no comparing a defensive back’s impact to a quarterback’s. But if Jones is right and Caleb Downs brings a Prescott-like presence to the defense, it won’t take long for this pick to pay off, even if the Cowboys' defense isn’t elite in Year 1 under Parker.
Almost universally regarded as a top-five player in the class, Downs seemingly doesn't have any holes in his game. The Cowboys revealed on Thursday that they only had higher grades on Arvell Reese, David Bailey, and Jeremiyah Love.
With rare pre-snap instincts, Downs could end up wearing the green dot when all is said and done. He sniffs out plays before they happen and rarely misses an open-field tackle. He's going to change everything for the defense.
And if Jones' words are true, he'll have a similar impact off the field.