When the Dallas Cowboys traded up one spot to snag Ohio State’s Caleb Downs back in April, the fanbase lit up in a way I have not seen in a long, long time.
We’re not accustomed to making a move for “the guy” or being aggressive about doing it; the move up for Downs was both in one. Somehow, over a month has already passed since that moment, and soon the discourse around him will turn from Draft Day hype to his actual performance.
All eyes will be on the youngster this summer, especially considering the huge role he is expected to play on a defense that needs major help.
Just how great can he be? Can he reach those sky-high expectations and be an All-Pro as a rookie? Let’s talk about it.
Caleb Downs: Is An All-Pro Rookie Season Possible?
First, what history has to say about this is important in answering whether it is possible. For Downs, he’s expected to do a bit of everything defensively, but he’s a defensive back at his core, of course.
Since 2000, only a select few DBs have ever made All-Pro as a rookie, but it has happened. Sauce Gardner got the nod with the Jets in 2022, Derwin James did as a safety in 2018, and Marcus Peters, thanks to an eight-interception season, did in 2015.
James is the most comparable to Downs, even if the newest Cowboy will place a lot of nickel corner in his rookie year.
In that 2018 campaign, James played and started in 16 games, recorded 105 total tackles (4 for loss), 3.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 13 passes defensed.
If you compare that to Downs’s freshman year at Alabama, he had 107 total tackles (3.5 for loss), 2 interceptions, and 4 passes defensed. Pretty similar numbers for James’s rookie year, and Downs was a literal true freshman in the SEC at the time.
– 99 total tackles
– 2 INT
– Forced Fumble
– 3 PD
Bama has a STUD. Excited to see more of him in the college football playoffs. 🔥
I think it’s safe to say it is at least possible for him to replicate that kind of production.
The larger question then is, will he actually do it? I think the answer to that is also yes, and it ties back to the new Defensive Coordinator in Dallas, Christian Parker.
Under Parker’s coaching in 2025, Cooper DeJean put together an All-Pro year for Philly, playing a similar role that Downs will for Dallas. He finished the season with nearly 100 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Eagles fans won’t like to hear it, but Downs is more naturally gifted than DeJean is, and in the same system would excel even more in 2026 than Philadelphia’s star did in 2025.
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