{"id":287450,"date":"2025-08-14T12:48:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/287450\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T12:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:48:14","slug":"caleb-downs-2026-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/287450\/","title":{"rendered":"Caleb Downs 2026 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ohio State went aggressive in the transfer portal to fill out its national champion squad. One of those transfers was Caleb Downs, who made an immense impact for the Buckeyes. Downs is a rare talent at the safety position and will be a critical factor for Ohio State\u2019s chances at a repeat. He has thrived with two blue-blood programs and is among the best players returning in 2025. How does Downs project to the next level, and is he the best player in this class?<\/p>\n

2026 NFL Draft: Caleb Downs Player Profile
\nBackground<\/p>\n

Downs was a five-star prospect coming out of Mill Creek(Georgia) and the top-ranked safety<\/a> in the Class of 2023. He committed to play for Nick Saban<\/a> and Alabama to begin his college career. Downs wasted no time making his presence known, leading the SEC<\/a> with 70 total tackles as a true freshman. He also recorded two interceptions and had an 85-yard punt return touchdown against Chattanooga. Following Saban\u2019s retirement, Downs transferred to Ohio State. He picked up right where he left off, accounting for 82 total tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, and two interceptions<\/a> in 2024. His special-teams prowess was again on display, having a 79-yard punt return touchdown against Indiana. Downs was a consensus All-American as a sophomore.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs leaves the field with a rose in his mouth following the 42-17 win over the Tennessee Volunteers in the College Football Playoff first round game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Dec. 21, 2024. Ohio State will face Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
\nStrengths<\/p>\n

Downs has an incredible football IQ and the instincts needed to be a productive safety in the NFL. He shows the ability to trick quarterbacks into making bad throws in zone coverage. His tackling production is mainly due to his effectiveness defending the run. Downs excels at reading gaps and consistently being in the right spot to make tackles. He is patient when attacking downhill and doesn\u2019t over-pursue often. His discipline keeps running backs from having open running lanes to pick up chunk plays. Downs plays bigger than his measurements and is a better tackler than most defensive backs.<\/p>\n

He has excellent range, which allows him to cover space and make plays out of nowhere. Downs has good ball skills and has shown the ability to win in man coverage. There aren\u2019t many players in college football who are more versatile than Downs. He can play as a deep safety, box safety, and a nickel defender.<\/p>\n

Weaknesses<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t much about Downs\u2019 game that\u2019s not to like. His frame is fairly average for a safety at 6 feet and 205 pounds. While he is good in man coverage, Downs may face size mismatches at the next level against tight ends and bigger wide receivers. He has limited experience as a single-high safety in his first two seasons. The speed and range are there, but the lack of experience in that role is a question mark.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/p>\n

Downs is the textbook definition of a blue-chip prospect. There aren\u2019t many players who impact the game in as many aspects as Downs. He is a difference maker in both pass defense and run defense who makes life easier for his teammates. His reliable tackling and ability to take the right path to the running back make him a factor on almost all run plays. As impressive as his stats are, they don\u2019t tell the whole story. Downs awareness to fill the right gap forces running backs to change direction and scramble into tackles. He has drawn comparisons to Ed Reed<\/a> due to his instincts and football intelligence. Whether Downs is a top-two safety of all time remains to be seen, but the traits of a perennial All-Pro are there.<\/p>\n

The biggest question for Downs is how early he can hear his name called in the 2026 NFL Draft? He has a strong case as the best overall prospect in the class, but safeties generally don\u2019t get selected as high as other positions. The talent should make Downs a top-10 pick regardless, and it\u2019s possible he is the first safety to be selected in the top five since Eric Berry<\/a>. This all depends on how the draft order shakes out and what teams need what positions. Wherever Downs lands, he should make his team better for many years to come.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ohio State went aggressive in the transfer portal to fill out its national champion squad. One of those…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4955,613,7,6,15,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-287450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-caleb-downs","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-nfl-draft","13":"tag-ohio-state-buckeyes"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115027201973948628","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}