S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
Jordan Plocher – Pro Football Focus
“Downs is a smart player who started for three seasons, and his lowest season-long PFF overall grade was an excellent 85.6 mark as a freshman.”
“The Ohio State safety is a versatile, high-IQ tone-setter who can help stabilize the secondary on a unit that badly needs more playmaking.”
Ryan Moran – Pro Football Network
“He earned unanimous All-American honors in each of the past two seasons. With his elite instincts, Downs has the versatility to align at a handful of positions on the defense for the Bengals.”
“With Downs patrolling the secondary, Cincinnati won’t give up nearly as many big plays though the air.”
“My gut tells me that it’d be really hard for Cincinnati to pass on a star player from Ohio State who has excelled in a lot of big games and has a winning pedigree to go with off-the-charts football intelligence… Some scouts we’ve spoken to say the 6-0, 206-pound Downs reminds them of a bigger version of Budda Baker. That’s high praise. Baker, a former second-rounder, has been to eight Pro Bowls in his nine-year career.”