Downs is being seen by some as Dallas' saving grace on defense, but are we putting too much pressure on a rookie to deliver?
The hype train for the Dallas Cowboys' defense since the franchise got its hands on Caleb Downs has been going full steam ahead.
With many seeing Downs as the main reason, along with his coordinator Christian Parker, for the defense's improvement, the thought of what this unit can do in 2026 centers on Downs being as good as advertised.
Yes, Downs is going to be asked to do a long straight out of the gate, but he's got the talent, the football IQ, and everything else you need to be productive in the NFL.
But some aren't asking him to be productive. They're asking him to be a star straight away.
Can he do it? According to draft experts, absolutely, with his ability to coordinate the secondary, which many think will limit the big, explosive plays that the Cowboys' defense gave up far too often last season.
But Downs is being looked at as Superman in this defense, rightly or wrongly, so should we be tempering our expectations on Caleb being the driving force for the defense from Day 1?
“I think expectations on all high draft picks are real," head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "They're all probably also a little bit too high. There is a transition period, there’s going to be mistakes that are made. I thought one of the greatest compliments you could give a young player is they don't repeat mistakes.
"If you tell Caleb one thing, he's made mistakes throughout the course of phase two and OTAS, even the last couple practices, but he doesn't make the same mistake twice. I think that's a very good thing for us and the Cowboy Nation because at the end of the day, you don't want guys that repeat mistakes because once you learn a skill set and you're corrected on something, it's cool to see them make those changes.”
That is exactly what fans want to hear.
Downs doesn't make the same mistake twice. He's intelligent enough to know his shortcomings, correct them, and then never make that same mistake again.
Now, will there be teething problems early on in the regular season? Of course, and going by Schottenheimer's words, Downs won't be a repeat offender, like so many were last year.
And with some already thinking Downs will be a leader for this defense, if not this year, sometime in the near future, that mindset and intelligence will hopefully spread out across the rest of the defense.
So should be lower our expectations on what Downs could be in his first NFL season?
After Schottenheimer's comments, I don't see how you can.
