OXNARD, Calif. — Caleb Downs drew Chris Olave for stretches of Tuesday’s joint practice. Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the rookie stayed in tight coverage on those reps. Olave beat him for one catch.
Olave signed a multi-year extension with the New Orleans Saints on July 30. He caught 100 passes for 1,163 yards and 9 touchdowns last season. All three were career highs, and the year got him second-team All-Pro.
Tuesday was the second joint practice of camp, after Dallas went to Woodland Hills to face the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 11. It was also the last open session before the Cowboys leave California.
Olave left for the medical tent during the practice and came back to the field.
“I think it’s great,” Schottenheimer said. “It goes into the same conversation we’ve had with past rushers against tackles. I thought he’s going up against another elite receiver and I thought he was in some tight coverages. I think, I know I saw Chris make one incredible catch on him, but Caleb’s gonna battle and I thought all in all he did pretty well.”
Brian Schottenheimer On Caleb Downs And Week 1
Dallas sent the Nos. 12, 177, and 180 picks to the Miami Dolphins in April to move up one spot for Downs at No. 11. He signed for four years and $27.7 million, with $16.6 million of that in his signing bonus.
The Cowboys kept their starters out of the preseason opener at Seattle on Aug. 15 and won 17-7 anyway. That leaves Tuesday as the last work Downs gets against another roster before the opener.
“We’re talking through that,” Schottenheimer explained. “Let me see this film, and I’ll let you know. I mean, right now I’m just in charge of Fight Club.”
Jalen Thompson On Caleb Downs In Camp
Downs started all 14 games at Alabama as a freshman in 2023 and was named SEC Freshman of the Year. He transferred to Ohio State that spring and won a national championship in his first season there. Last year he took the Jim Thorpe Award, the Lott Trophy, and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He was a unanimous All-American twice.
Dallas allowed a league-high 30.1 points per game in 2025. The 251.5 passing yards it gave up per game were also the most in the league. Christian Parker took over as defensive coordinator in January.
Jalen Thompson has been next to Downs in Parker’s secondary since the offseason program. He came over from Arizona in March on a three-year, $33 million deal after seven seasons there.
“Bro, it’s amazing. It’s amazing,” Thompson said. “He’s literally taking steps every single day. He’s elevated. He’s going against some of the best guys in the NFL right now. So just to see a guy like that step up and be a leader as a rookie, it’s a great thing.”
The Cowboys play at the Cardinals on Saturday at 9 p.m. CT. The preseason finale against New Orleans comes Aug. 28 at AT&T Stadium.
