FRISCO, Texas 鈥� As Cowboys southeast area scout Eric Ellingworth was going through his region before the 2023 NFL Draft, he stopped at East Tennessee State and chatted with running backs coach and pro liaison Gary Downs.
His trip was in part to see Jacob Saylors, an ETSU running back who went undrafted in 2023 and now plays for the Detroit Lions. While there, he learned about Gary's son, Caleb, a five-star prospect committed to Nick Saban and Alabama.
Caleb was not just any coaches son. As a senior in high school at Mill Creek in Hoschton, Georgia, Downs was already going through Alabama's defensive installs before he even stepped foot on campus. When he finally did, it was clear the work paid off.
"I got to see him as a freshman there and he was, in a very talented defensive back room, he stood out," Ellingworth said. "I was ready to write that report right then and there, and then drooling at the opportunity to do it."
Then Alabama head coach Nick Saban was in his final season coaching the Crimson Tide. Under his watch over 17 years in Tuscaloosa, 28 defensive backs heard their names called in the NFL Draft. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Patrick Surtain, Trevon Diggs and Marlon Humphrey are just some of the names he's helped produce. Even though Downs and Saban spent just one year together, his name is mentioned in the upper echelon of players to come through that program.
"For Caleb specifically, you hear things like: 'Smartest D-back that coach Saban has ever coached.' You think of the number of not just really talented players, but really smart guys, I mean, that's a difficult defense to master鈥� Caleb has everything down鈥�" Ellingworth said.
"His brain works so well because he loves football so much and prepares at a different rate."
Following Saban's retirement at Alabama after the 2023 season, Downs transferred to Ohio State, who finished second in his high school recruitment. According to Ellingworth, one of the reasons why Downs made the decision to transfer was because "he couldn't sit still" during the transition process and wanted to begin learning his new defense and starting an offseason training program immediately.
And so, Downs would go on to spend two years in Columbus, helping the Buckeyes win a national championship in 2024 and reach the College Football Playoff in 2025. When his collegiate career was all said and done, he had played under Saban, then-Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, three of the best defensive minds in college football with advanced schemes. That gives players like Downs a leg up in the NFL process.
"I think that's kind of what put Alabama and Georgia players ahead in the last 10 years. Playing for Kirby or Nick, they put so much on these kids," Cowboys director of of college scouting Mitch LaPoint said. "And if they tell you, 'Hey, this guy's an average learner.' You get them at the combine, and they're advanced compared to some other kids. And you're like, 'Wait, he's average? Oh my God, this guy is unbelieveable鈥�.' When you get guys from some of those programs, you know they've been through it."
In the pre-draft process, the depth of knowledge that Downs had paired with his film wowed the Cowboys. Many considered it to be a longshot of Downs making it within range of the 12th pick, where Dallas was originally slated to select.
"He's probably the most complete [safety] I've watched," Cowboys national scout Ross Wuensche said. "The instincts are elite. What makes him so different is he erases the middle of the field. The hashes are where he is such a threat. I just think it's very dangerous. We can play him from the nickel. CP's vision for him is really cool, in base he can play two-high, we can rotate off rotation. His ability to insert from depth, fill the B-gap, he's a freak. The wiring with how we're trying to build our team culture wise, he checks that box ten-fold."
And yet, there he was when the Miami Dolphins came on the clock with the 11th overall pick. The Cowboys didn't want anyone to jump them, and traded two fifth-round picks to move up one spot and be able to select their guy.
"This is my 14th year here, and I've never seen a room so excited for a player when we took Caleb [Downs]." Wuensche said.
The selection was the culmination of years' worth of study, and one that the Cowboys are confident can go a long way in reshaping their defense under Christian Parker.
"When he was a freshman at Alabama, you saw him playing amongst all those guys, you saw somebody that was different," Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay said. "And then you get to see another year and then you get to go to Ohio State and he's a difference-making type player and we're very, very fortunate to get him."
"I was surprised that he was there. And you look at the accolades, like when you hear Coach Saban and people talk about how smart he is, and then you talk about the importance of that. Like the other day we were talking about how a brain works and how that fits into a defense where you have a guy that can do that. He's a multiplier."
Later this week, the work begins for Downs and the rest of the Cowboys' rookie class with the beginning of rookie minicamp. As he heads into his first NFL season, Dallas believes Downs is a player that won't need too much time to acclimate himself to the professional waters.
"He's going to come in day one like a vet. Like an advanced vet," Ellingworth said. "He's going to be doing calculus when some guys who are still year three and four in the league, they're still doing algebra. He's different."
