It was pretty evident to anyone who watched Dallas Cowboys safety and 2026 1st round pick Caleb Downs play the last 3 seasons that he was ready for the NFL.
There were times when Downs, the No. 11 overall pick, made playing against the best players in the country seem downright easy.
The 1 thing Downs didn’t seem to learn during his time at Alabama and Ohio State? Maybe don’t say the quiet part out loud.
During a recent interview on Dallas sports radio talk station 105.3-FM The Fan, Downs admitted he was “bored” playing college football.
“Yeah, I’ll honestly say yes,” Downs responded to the question about being bored in college. “Ball not coming your way. Maybe the talent may not be as good that week. You don’t play high-level talent every week in college. That’s just something you have to get used to … Just getting bored of not getting any action.”
It’s a wild claim for Downs to make for a lot of reasons — the 1st being that NFL players also have the internet and will undoubtedly put an even bigger target on Downs when they play.
That’s not totally ideal for a rookie, no matter how talented they might seem.
Downs Earns High Praise From Former Coach
Downs seems more ready to contribute immediately in the NFL than almost any player in this year’s draft, and received some high praise from ESPN analyst and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban
Saban coached Downs in his freshman year at Alabama, which was also Saban’s last year coaching college football.
“Caleb Downs made more plays in college than anybody in the draft,” Saban said on April 22. “He’s so instinctive and he’s a phenomenal person. He is a football junkie, and he’s a thumper.”
For the uninitiated, being a “thumper” simply means Downs can come up and hit people very, very hard.
Rumors of Medical Issues Hurt Downs’ Draft Stock
The Cowboys received almost universal praise for trading up to draft Downs, who saw his draft stock take a bit of a dip over stories about a possible degenerative knee condition.
“Bummer here, I was told by an NFC scout that Ohio State safety Caleb Downs had a couple of issues flagged during his medical check,” Daft on Draft’s Cory Kinnan wrote. “Nobody expected him to test (at the combine), so it flew a bit under the radar. However, I was told that Downs was flagged with a partially torn meniscus this week. That is not a serious concern, but also being flagged with a potentially degenerative ACL is.”
That Downs didn’t crack the Top 10 picks might serve as some good-sized motivation for the start of his career — 1 that will have a hyper focus on his comments about being “Bored” in college if he struggles in the least.
“Downs is one of the smartest football players I’ve ever studied,” ESPN’s Jordan Reid wrote in a pre-draft evalaution. “His football IQ, versatility on the back end and sure tackling ability make him a worthy selection (in the Top 10) even though a safety hasn’t been drafted in the top 10 since 2017 (Jamal Adams).”
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