How Caleb Downs Can Elevate The Cowboys’ Revamped Defense: ‘Whatever You Need’

Caleb Downs started creeping toward the line of scrimmage, watching Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart survey the coverage. From the slot, the Cowboys rookie took off like a rocket at the snap, unaccounted for by New York’s protection. Downs blasted Dart at full speed from his blind side, causing a fumble which, fortunately for the Giants, was caught in the air by left guard Jon Runyan Jr. Dallas’ defense struggled mightily in the team’s 28-20 season-opening loss Sunday to the Giants, and Downs wasn’t blameless in the lapses. But that sack, the first of his NFL career, was a taste of the playmaking the Cowboys expect from the No. 11 overall pick as a foundational piece in their revamped defense. Coming out of Ohio State, Downs was touted as a generational safety prospect. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called him a “quarterback-of-the-defense nickel.” Dallas vice president of player personnel Will McClay said, “He’s a multiplier. He’s going to make other people better.” As Downs prepares for the Cowboys’ home opener against the Washington Commanders on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX), his track record shows that he’ll attack those expectations with intentionality. Chris Rudnick remembers when Downs was late to a workout session this offseason. There were factors he “couldn’t control,” but he still showed up 20 to 30 minutes after the set start time. So, in Downs’ mind, that needed to be addressed. “For him, [in his] early 20s, to come in and own up to a mistake even though it wasn’t his fault, to be apologetic and to look us in the eyes and say, ‘Hey, I’m sorry for wasting your time?'” Rudnick, a strength trainer for Atlanta-based Adapt, told me. “I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve actually gotten apologies for people being late, whether it was their fault or not their fault. “When Caleb says he’s going to be here, he is going to be here,” Rudnick continued. “Caleb is not someone who likes to be late.” That kind of accountability is a given for Downs, according to those who’ve worked with him at Adapt. He doesn’t need to be motivated. He attacks every rep and drill. He always asks questions. In group sessions, he finishes his sets and intently watches everyone else’s reps until it’s his turn again. “It’s like every workout is the most important workout. He’s not phoning anything in, and I think that’s palpable,” Rudnick told me. “I think what differentiates him maybe from some other athletes, especially athletes at that level, is … Caleb will keep asking questions. “He is someone who is willing to have a back and forth and is looking for a back and forth because he doesn’t want to just settle for doing it OK. He wants to do it very, very well. And if he doesn’t feel like he is demonstrating something at the level that he should be, there’s going to be dialogue.” It’s the same story on the field. In Cowboys training camp, Downs was regularly tasked with covering CeeDee Lamb, one of football’s best wide receivers. Downs had constant conversations with the perennial Pro Bowler about what he was seeing from him and techniques he was using, information he could use against opposing pass-catchers in games. “He’s very willing. He’s very curious,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker said during training camp. “He has that natural spirit about him.” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer saw the leadership all over Downs’ Ohio State film. When he spoke to his defensive teammates, he didn’t ask for anyone else’s opinion. “He’s making that call,” Schottenheimer explained in the spring, “and it’s what you’re doing.” Downs has to earn that kind of respect in the Dallas defense. But he’s on his way. His habits tell you so. In group workouts this offseason, before he’d even taken an NFL snap, he always jumped to the front for drills. Didn’t matter if established pros were there. College players who lifted with Downs got quieter when he was up at the bar. Bigger skill players watched the weight he moved with his 206-pound frame, then were more inclined to add weight to their own sets. Downs paid close attention to their reps, offering tips as needed. “He’s not necessarily trying to be the loudest guy out there,” Adapt trainer JT Alphabet told me. “But guys naturally follow his lead because of how he works.” Added Rudnick: “He just comes in with this air of almost like a veteran mindset.” It shows up in how Downs sees the game, too. It’s how, as a true freshman in 2023, he led Alabama in tackles. As a teenager, he mastered Nick Saban’s defense — then did the same with Matt Patricia’s scheme at Ohio State, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American. “I feel like my mind really puts me above a lot of people in terms of how I process the game and play with instincts,” Downs said at the NFL Combine. “I feel like that’s what makes me special.” He has a high football IQ and processes information “very quickly,” according to Rudnick. Downs’ aptitude is why the Cowboys trust him to learn two positions as a rookie, nickel and safety. He played 61 of Dallas’ 69 defensive snaps in his regular-season debut (88%) — 34 in the slot, 18 in the box and nine at free safety, according to Pro Football Focus. After the game, Downs told CBS Sports: “I think I can play the run game really well. Play the pass game, whatever it is, whether it’s man or dropping zones. I’m an extra corner or extra linebacker. Whatever you need.” Including the nickel-blitz sack fumble, Downs had seven tackles against the Giants. “I think Caleb played really, really well,” Schottenheimer said. “Jaxson Dart never saw him on the blitz. He gets a free run and the ball goes spiraling through the air, and the 320-pound guard [Runyan] catches it and rumbles for five yards. That’s kind of how the night went for us. But I think that’s one of the positives of what we did on defense: We attacked the ball. We had four forced fumbles. “Caleb is a guy that can move around, but we like him down near the line of scrimmage.” Downs underwent a baptism by fire in his first NFL training camp. In addition to facing teammates Lamb and George Pickens, he matched up with star receivers Puka Nacua and Chris Olave in joint practices against the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, respectively. He embraced all of it. That’s where his confidence comes from. The reps against some of the league’s best receivers show him where he needs to be. “Mike Tyson says success breeds confidence and confidence breeds success,” Downs said in August. “I feel like those two work together, and when you win at things and do good at things, it allows you to feel more confident. When you succeed, it continues to grow from there.” The Cowboys don’t see Downs as a rookie. They see him as a culture-changer. “He’s a guy that we’re expecting to play a lot,” veteran Cowboys safety Malik Hooker said in August. “And not only play a lot, but to be a difference-maker in our defense.” Downs’ intent is not to make individual highlights in bad team performances. It’s to be a cornerstone who plays an integral role in sustained success.