‘Very Nervous’: Brian Schottenheimer Thought New York Giants Might Take Caleb Downs Before Dallas Cowboys
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas was very nervous watching the top 10 of the 2026 draft in April, Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday, because he had heard Giants coach John Harbaugh speak about Caleb Downs in terms that suggested the safety would not last until Dallas picked.
New York held the No. 10 selection, acquired from Cincinnati in the Dexter Lawrence trade, and used it on Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. The Giants had already taken Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese fifth overall. Dallas then traded up one spot with the Miami Dolphins and took Downs 11th.
“Very nervous, because I’d heard, you know, John, Coach Harbaugh, talk about that he was a generational safety. I think it was the terms he used. If I’m wrong, I apologize,” Schottenheimer said. “But I knew how much he thought of him. They got a terrific player, but [we] were surprised. They got a great player from Ohio State as well, and Arvell Reese. But I was surprised. But it wasn’t just them. It was a number of the teams in front of us.”
Downs was the second of two Dallas first-round picks. Malachi Lawrence went 23rd overall.
Caleb Downs From Alabama To Ohio State
Downs signed with Alabama out of Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Georgia, and started at safety as a true freshman in 2023. He finished with 107 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 5 pass breakups, becoming the first Alabama freshman to lead the program in tackles. The SEC coaches named him Freshman of the Year, and he won the Shaun Alexander national freshman of the year award.
Nick Saban retired that January. Downs entered the transfer portal and committed to Ohio State within two days.
In 2024 he started all 16 games for a national championship team and put up 82 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 6 pass breakups. He returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown against Indiana, the first punt return score by an Ohio State player in a decade, and was named a unanimous first-team All-American.
Last season Downs won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, the third Ohio State player to take it after Antoine Winfield in 1998 and Malcolm Jenkins in 2008. He also won the Lott IMPACT Trophy and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was a unanimous All-American for the second straight season, and finished ninth in Heisman voting. He recorded 60 tackles, 40 of them solo, over 13 games.
His father, Gary Downs, played running back for the Giants, Broncos, and Falcons. His older brother, Josh Downs, is a receiver for Indianapolis.
Brian Schottenheimer On How Caleb Downs Prepares
Schottenheimer said the rookie’s practice habits do not resemble most rookies he has coached.
“Man, you know, probably sound like a broken record. The way he prepares, the way he practices is not like, I don’t want to say any. It’s not like most rookies I’ve been around,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s different. There’s a different mindset. There’s a different competitive fire in this kid. He craves coaching. Like, he cannot get coached enough.”
“And, you know, I think at the end of the day, that’s why he’s such a good player,” Schottenheimer continued. “You look at him and just the way he’s always played the game, he plays it with instincts. But those instincts aren’t just because he’s got great FBI. He works his butt off at studying the X’s and the O’s part of it. So, unique young man, very special talent.”
Downs is the only player Dallas lists at defensive back on the Week 1 depth chart, and he is second at punt returner. He is one of six rookies the Cowboys kept, and all six appear on the chart. ESPN’s survey of league executives and scouts, published Tuesday, picked Downs to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Asked for a stylistic comparison after more than two decades in the league, Schottenheimer would not give one.
“That’s hard, Garrett. I probably won’t compare him,” Schottenheimer explained. “I mean, there’s been some great players I’ve been around, but he’s such a unique talent and a unique young man in a good way, you know, like, I think he’s the first of Caleb Downs.”
Dallas finished 7-9-1 last season and allowed 511 points, the most in the league. The Cowboys open Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
