There’s a football-wide chorus, led by the likes of Micah Parsons and Nick Saban, singing the tune that the Dallas Cowboys landed the best player in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys traded up one spot to select former Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick of the first round on Thursday night.
Downs is a two-time All-American, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and the reigning Jim Thorpe Award winner, the latter of which is given annually to the best defensive back in college football.
So, it makes sense that Downs exhibited unflinching confidence in himself when approached by a Cowboys fan outside of the Cowboys’ “The Star” headquarters on Friday.
Downs signed his autograph on something in a frame for a smiling man who said, “Hope you’re the next Ed Reed.” Downs shrugged and coolly replied, “I’m gonna be myself.”
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris caught the interaction on video:
For reference, Ed Reed is one of the best safeties to ever grace an NFL field, as he headed up the Ravens’ monstrous early 2000s defenses en route to the Hall of Fame. That’s the highest bar one could place on Downs before he’s taken his first NFL snap, but draft analysts and scouts unanimously believe Downs has that potential in him.
Immediately, Downs automatically brings a juice to the Cowboys’ defense that left the building when Dallas traded All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers last August.
After the Cowboys drafted him, Downs joined Parsons, New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers, and host Adam Lefkoe on Bleacher Report’s draft show. Nabers admitted he was “not excited” to face Downs twice a year in the NFC East, and then Parsons gave Downs advice on following in his footsteps in Dallas.
“The first thing I’m gonna tell you, and what I tell anybody, is being a first-round pick is a pressure of its own, but that pressure is a privilege,” Parsons said. “And because you’re wearing a star, there’s even higher expectations. Higher media, higher outside noise. Eliminate it. Remember this: They’re not drafting you to be a player; they’re drafting you to be the player that you already are.”
Parsons added, “You don’t wish upon a star, you land on it. So, good luck, brother. You’re gonna have a lot of fun in the city, bro. And, yo, do me one favor? Do not let CeeDee Lamb into you. Take care of him for me, please.”
Watch Downs’ full segment with Nabers and Parsons below.
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