It will probably take a few days to register that Caleb Downs is a Dallas Cowboy.
After all, nobody in their right mind thought the Ohio State phenom would fall outside of the top 10. That includes Jerry Jones ... and everyone else inside the Cowboys' War Room, for that matter.
Addressing the media after a wildly successful first round, Jones detailed the emotions he went through as Downs became more and more realistic (h/t Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com).
"We had high respect for him. He was a prize for us sitting there — with the [fifth-rounders] or without them. ... We had every reason to think another team would [move up] to try and get him."
Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys were full of emotional before drafting Caleb Downs
That describes every single Cowboys fan who was waiting for the Downs dagger.
The board could not have fallen kinder for Dallas to start, as offensive players made up three of the first four picks. However, the Giants grabbed Arvell Reese at No. 5, before the Chiefs traded up to No. 6 for Mansoor Delane. Then, the Commanders took Sonny Styles at No. 7.
That stretch seemed to be the nail in the coffin. No way four more teams would pass on Downs. That's why you can never say never in the NFL Draft. Teams overthink blue-chip players every single year, and Downs was this year's victim, likely due to safety not being a premium position.
What are the Cowboys getting in Caleb Downs? One article isn't enough time, but we'll run through the SparkNotes. He was the tone-setter for Alabama as a freshman and was the nucleus of a stacked Ohio State defense that won a National Championship in 2024. All at 21 years old.
It will be some time before we see it unfold on the field, but Downs is going to unlock Christian Parker's defense. If Parker could have handpicked one player in this draft to run his defense, it would have been Downs.
The value of getting a player of Downs' caliber as late as the Cowboys did is still hard to believe. This feels a lot like when the league let CeeDee Lamb fall to Dallas at pick No. 17 in 2020.
Add us as a preferred source on Google