[Editor’s note: This article is from Athlon Sports’ 2026 NFL Draft Preview magazine. Order your copy today onlineor pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]
In the modern NFL, defense is more about deception than ever before. The old “four-down until you blitz” paradigms are out the window; now, teams are putting their linemen and linebackers in every kind of alignment imaginable to mess with offensive protections, and those linemen and linebackers are stunting (moving from gap to gap in choreographed fashion) to further confuse pass protectors and run blockers.
Deception has become even more the order of the day in defensive backfields. The old “free” and “strong” designations for safeties barely exist anymore, and cornerbacks are now asked to be far more interchangeable between outside and the slot. Coverage switches, in which safeties move from two-high looks pre-snap to one-high looks post-snap and vice versa, have become the rule as opposed to the exception.
All of this deception has mandated the rise of defensive backs who can truly do it all. At the NFL level, Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens, Brian Branch of the Detroit Lions, Minkah Fitzpatrick of the Miami Dolphins and Nick Emmanwori of the Seattle Seahawks have become prominent stars because of their versatility as opposed to their ability in one defined position. These players can roam everywhere from the box to the slot to single-high and two-high concepts, and they can even soak up reps at outside cornerback.
Which makes it the ideal time for Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs to enter the draft. Because Downs has already proven that he can do it all in a Buckeyes defense under coordinator Matt Patricia that mirrors the next level in complexity and effectiveness.
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In one year (2023) with Alabama, and through the next two seasons at Ohio State, Downs allowed a total of 79 catches on 122 targets for 812 yards, two touchdowns, six interceptions, seven pass breakups and an opponent NFL passer rating of 68.8. Downs also totaled 213 solo tackles, 96 stops, 16 tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles, as well as two sacks and nine pressures on only 60 pass-rushing snaps.
In each of his three collegiate seasons, Downs played at least 146 snaps apiece in the box, the slot and at deep safety. In his 2025 season, he became a bit more of a deep safety for the Buckeyes, lining up 63% of the time in the deep third (17% as a single-high safety and 46% as a two-deep defender), 21% in the slot, 8% in the box and 8% at outside cornerback.
Wherever Patricia put him, Downs was ready to create all kinds of havoc.
“I feel like defense is not just, hey, I line up every play, and you know where I am,” Downs told Athlon Sports. “And you know where I’m at every play. I feel like it’s moving pieces around and making the offense see different pictures. Coach Patricia, he uses the term, ‘Simple for us, hard for them.’ At the end of the day, if I’m in all these different positions and doing different things at different positions, the quarterback is having to think about that every play.
“‘Okay, he’s the boundary safety this play, close to the line of scrimmage this play. He’s in the post this play. He’s dropped down 10 yards over the apex in the middle of the field. He could run the alley on this play. He could play the post. He could do all these different things. He’s at nickel this play. He could blitz. He could play coverage. He could play zone. What are they?’
“They’re having to go through that every play. And I feel like that’s something that makes DBs special, but also coaches have to be able to move the chess pieces around and be able to do that at a high level. And that’s why I appreciated Coach Patricia. I feel like that was a big thing. And for myself, I feel like I’ve always been able to make plays at any level of the field, whether that’s man, zone, in the box, in the post, in the deep part of the field.
“That was a big positive learning his system and seeing how he was going to use me. So I feel like that just shows versatility and [how NFL] teams can use me in a lot of different ways.”
Lessons from Nick Saban
It also helped that in 2023 at Alabama, when he won SEC Freshman of the Year, Downs got to work with head coach Nick Saban, one of the finest defensive minds of his (or any) era. Saban helped to invent match coverage decades ago, and every defensive back under his tutelage was going to come out with a fuller understanding of the requirements of the positions.
“I learned more about just being consistent and having discipline,” Downs said of Saban. “Not just the things that he taught to the team, but that you saw him do every day. He ate the same oatmeal raisin cookie every day. He wore two or three outfits every week. Consistently making sure that you’re doing certain things to allow you to succeed. And some of those things are small, but they make a huge impact.
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“And then on the field — I mean, the intensity that he brought every day and attention to detail, that’s what made him special. Being able to uphold that standard that everybody around him has to get to to be around him.
“Because as he says, high achievers can’t really be around people that don’t achieve high things. So just being able to pull people to the standard you’re trying to get to, I feel like that’s what made him special as a coach. And then on the field, yeah, everybody knows his football mind, being able to articulate offense and defense. And then in terms of defense, recruiting the best players and then being able to get everybody on the same page and play the game at a high level.”
The origins of Downs’ football smarts and overall talent are easy to detect. His father Gary was a star running back at NC State who also played in the NFL from 1994-2000, and he’s also been a longtime coach who trained his sons for success. Caleb’s brother, Josh, is a star receiver with the Indianapolis Colts who has amassed 2,140 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns over three seasons. His uncle, Dre’ Bly, played cornerback in the NFL from 1999-2009, winning a Super Bowl ring and earning two Pro Bowl nods along the way.
So, when it comes to envisioning a successful NFL career, Caleb Downs doesn’t need to imagine anything — the paradigm is all around him.
“Just being able to believe in something, knowing that these opportunities and these things that seem as far away when you’re a kid, they’re possible,” Downs said. “I mean, people around you have accomplished them, and they know the steps to get there. So I feel like having that around me as a kid made me believe that maybe not necessarily every step of the way will be exactly as they say, but they’ve pretty much been through exactly what I’m looking to go through.
“So I think it’s been a huge positive for me, and they all have allowed me to rely on them in a lot of different ways.”
Downs is also driven by the faith that permeates through his family; it’s what has allowed him to keep a level head during the most frantic time of his life.
• SEE ALSO: Caleb Downs describes his best traits
“It changes the way you think about things,” he said. “It changes how you’re viewing life. More so than just football, am I walking in the way that I’m supposed to walk in terms of the way that Jesus walked, or am I following the worldly paths? Being able to discern where my head’s at daily, what type of thoughts go through my head, and trying to make sure that I’m not feeding myself with whatever the worldly, continual, sinful nature is in terms of everything that goes on.
“Trying to keep my mind on the kingdom, and keep my mind on acting holy and righteous in terms of thoughts. So I feel like that shapes everything off the field, and just trying to walk a righteous life on the field.”
Downs’ NFL path will also be smoother due to the fact that Ohio State played what amounted to an NFL defense in terms of its complexities and responsibilities. From stunts and blitzes at the line to coverage concepts that change in the blink of an eye, there isn’t much that will be beyond Downs’ experience.
“I think it’ll be a big positive for me,” Downs concluded. “At least in being able to understand everything that’s going on. I think it’ll help my learning curve. I’ve had three different defensive coordinators in three different years. That’s three different systems to be able to learn from. I’m glad that I got a chance to learn from Coach P [Patricia] and everything that he does. I feel like that helped my development and being able to push myself to learn that. I’m excited.”
