Former Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is one of the most hyped prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft class after an impressive season on defense for the Buckeyes, where they allowed only 9.3 points per game. Downs has been predicted to be a potential top-10 pick in several mock drafts and to be the first safety off the board on draft night.
Ryan Day Makes Huge Caleb Downs Prediction
During Monday’s segment of the “Jim Rome Show,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day lavished praise on Downs’ prodigious talent and gave an interesting prediction about the safety’s ceiling in the NFL.
“I felt like watching him play in high school games, he was playing against Buford, he was at Milcreek. It was probably the best high school player I had ever seen,” Day said. ” He never came off the field. He was playing running back, he was playing safety and running downhill and knocking people’s helmets off. He was a returner, he played quarterback.
“He did it all and he made everybody around him better. He did the same thing when he was in college. This is another guy that has only played three years of college football. So, his ceiling is really high here and he’s not a finished product. When you get around him, it’s like talking to a 10-year vet in the NFL. His understanding of football and work ethic.”
Downs won several awards last season, including the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Thorpe Award, given to the best defensive back in the country annually. He was part of the most dominant defense in college football, which earned a PFSN College Defense Impact score of 95.1.
Despite the hype around Downs, “Daft on Draft” reporter Corey Kinnan revealed that teams had flagged potential injury woes for the former Buckeyes safety during medical tests at the combine in Indianapolis.
“Ending on a bummer here, I was told by an NFC scout that Ohio State all-class safety Caleb Downs had a couple of issues flagged during his medical check,” Kinnan wrote. “Nobody expected him to test this week anyway, so it flew a bit under the radar. However, I was told that Downs was flagged with a partially torn meniscus this week.
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“That is not a serious concern, but also being flagged with a potentially degenerative ACL is. Now, this is not to signify any sort of significant drop for Downs, who likely will return and get a second opinion and a second check. Besides, plenty of NFL players have been flagged with degenerative knees before, but have gone on to have successful NFL careers.”
Downs registered 68 total tackles, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one sack for Ohio State last season, earning an impressive PFSN College Safety Impact score of 83.5.
