Caleb Downs is forcing front offices to rethink what a top pick at safety looks like.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Downs — the rangy, instinctive defensive back from Ohio State — turned a lot of heads. His range in coverage, clean tackling and ability to slide into multiple roles have pushed him into early-first-round talk, and that’s not something teams take lightly. Safety has historically been a lower-priority spot on draft boards. Downs’ tape argues otherwise: he’s the sort of player whose very presence changes how you value the position.
Rethinking value means hard choices
Drafting is always a balancing act. Teams juggle immediate need, long-term upside and the opportunity cost of a premium pick. Use a top-five selection on a safety and you’re committing scarce capital — and the staff better be confident the fit will pay dividends. Conversely, passing on a prospect who can legitimately cover, tackle and communicate at a high level risks leaving a transformational piece on the board.
That’s why scheme fit matters more than ever. Downs isn’t a one-dimensional name on a paper roster. He can play deep as a traditional center fielder, step into the box and tackle downhill, or slide into the slot and mirror receivers. For defenses that prize disguise and versatility, that flexibility is enormous: you can disguise pressures, mix personnel without telegraphing it, and ask fewer specialized subpackage pieces to carry the load.
The Giants’ calculus
For New York, the Downs question becomes both schematic and philosophical. Under Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh, the Giants have shown they’ll spend where they see clear value. Harbaugh has a history of unlocking versatile defenders; Schoen has to weigh that desire against the hard math of roster construction. Drafting Downs high would reshape round-two-and-beyond priorities — you’d be able to chase role players later rather than plugging a hybrid void immediately.
But committing that high means answering several pragmatic questions first: Where exactly does he fit in your defensive front? How many snaps do you expect him to take in single-high versus in-the-box duties? Are the medicals and conditioning sufficient for the wear-and-tear that comes with hybrid roles? Good teams demand clarity on those points before they pull the trigger.
History offers both encouragement and caution
There are precedents for elite safeties justifying early picks — names like Sean Taylor, Eric Berry and Jamal Adams come to mind — but the market still tends to favor edge rushers and shutdown corners with top selections. The difference with Downs is that his film makes a persuasive case for value beyond a positional label: he creates disruption in the run game, wins coverage matchups, and handles backend communication.
That said, positional ambiguity can inflate execution risk. The best way to reduce that risk is to define roles beforehand. If a staff can map out snap packages, coverage responsibilities and matchup priorities in advance, a high pick becomes less of a speculative experiment and more of a high-variance investment with well-understood upside.
What teams will ask
– Can he be a week-one starter in your system, or will he need a refined role to unlock his best traits? – How does his body hold up to press coverage, run support and slot matchups over a season? – Will his addition allow you to use fewer premium resources elsewhere — say, on edge rushers or nickel corners — by covering multiple needs with one player?
Answers to those questions will shape not just whether a team picks Downs, but how they build around him.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Downs — the rangy, instinctive defensive back from Ohio State — turned a lot of heads. His range in coverage, clean tackling and ability to slide into multiple roles have pushed him into early-first-round talk, and that’s not something teams take lightly. Safety has historically been a lower-priority spot on draft boards. Downs’ tape argues otherwise: he’s the sort of player whose very presence changes how you value the position.0
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Downs — the rangy, instinctive defensive back from Ohio State — turned a lot of heads. His range in coverage, clean tackling and ability to slide into multiple roles have pushed him into early-first-round talk, and that’s not something teams take lightly. Safety has historically been a lower-priority spot on draft boards. Downs’ tape argues otherwise: he’s the sort of player whose very presence changes how you value the position.1