DALLAS — Caleb Downs is the pick to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year on NFL.com‘s staff ballot, which the site published Tuesday. He received five of the 18 votes, the most of any defensive rookie.
Rueben Bain Jr. was next with four votes. David Bailey and Sonny Styles got three each. Arvell Reese, Jacob Rodriguez, and Josiah Trotter each picked up one vote.
NFL.com listed Downs at plus-700 at FanDuel Sportsbook as of 11 a.m. CT Tuesday. Bain’s odds were plus-470, with Bailey at plus-500 and Styles at plus-750.
Raza Umerani based his vote in part on Christian Parker‘s history coaching defensive backs. Umerani described Downs as “a pure alpha and do-it-all defender” and pointed to Parker as a coach who could put that versatility to use from the start.
Christian Parker’s Track Record With Defensive Backs
Parker spent 2021 through 2023 as the Denver Broncos defensive backs coach and the past two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. Patrick Surtain II, Justin Simmons, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean all earned All-Pro honors working under him. The Dallas Cowboys hired Parker on Jan. 22, and at 34 he is the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history.
The Cowboys traded the 12th overall pick and two 2026 fifth-round picks to the Miami Dolphins to move up one spot for Downs. Dallas signed him on May 1. He wears No. 13.
Caleb Downs At Alabama And Ohio State
Downs spent his freshman season at Alabama in 2023 and transferred to Ohio State, where he played in 2024 and 2025. He won the Jim Thorpe Award and the Lott Trophy in 2025 and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year that season. He was a unanimous All-American twice, in 2024 and 2025, and a second-team All-American as a freshman. Ohio State won the College Football Playoff national championship in his first season there.
Dallas took a second defensive player in the first round, adding UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence at No. 23. It was the first time since 2005 that the Cowboys opened a draft with two defensive first-rounders.
The Dallas Cowboys Secondary In 2026
The secondary Downs joins finished last in the league in passing yards allowed in 2025. Dallas ranked 30th in total yards allowed and gave up 511 points, or 30.1 per game, which ranked 32nd. The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus after the season.
Dallas signed safety Jalen Thompson and cornerback Cobie Durant in free agency and drafted Florida cornerback Devin Moore in the fourth round. Malik Hooker, P.J. Locke, DaRon Bland, and Shavon Revel Jr. are also in the secondary.
DeMarvion Overshown returned for 6 games last season and finished with 28 tackles after tearing the anterior cruciate, medial collateral, and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee in December 2024. Dallas is moving him inside to middle linebacker, where he will wear the green dot for Parker.
Dallas starts the season Sunday, Sept. 13, on the road against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The game starts at 7:20 p.m. CT and will air on NBC.
