Ohio State's Caleb Downs ‘Primed' to Make an Impact With Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys weren’t bad last season, but they also weren’t great, and Jerry Jones and company missed the opportunity to get to the playoffs amid their 7-9 record.

Now, the team is heading into the 2026-27 season with a new class of rookies and the determination to get to the postseason this time around.

One of the team’s rookies, Caleb Downs out of Ohio State, is already getting major props ahead of his first season with the team.

Tom Blair of the NFL’s official website has a feature out on Tuesday, May 5, highlighting 10 rookies who he believes could succeed in their first year in the NFL and going forward.

“The pipeline of prospect analysis has been cut off. All the anticipation over what could happen gave way to the excitement of selections and trades actually happening, and now it’s all in the history books,” Blair states in the article. “This portion of the calendar can feel a tad short on fuel for football obsessives.”

He picks Downs as the No. 7 player most likely to succeed in the upcoming season.

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“The Cowboys have a screaming need for a defensive standard-bearer, and Downs seems primed to take on that role,” he states in the piece. “If he was stepping onto a roster that was otherwise free of question marks or led by an established coordinator with a proven track record, he’d probably sit much higher on this list.”

He adds: “This just hasn’t been the kind of franchise you can set your clock to, coming off consecutive seven-win seasons and bottom-five finishes in yards allowed.”

My Thoughts: Caleb Downs and the Dallas Cowboys

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Downs could pop right away under first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker. It’s not a stretch. There’s real talent here, and guys like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark don’t exactly blend into the background. But this is the NFL, and clean, tidy storylines don’t usually survive past September, especially in Dallas, where things have a habit of getting wild fast. If all goes well, though, it will be a stellar first season for Downs.

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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 10:24 AM.