2026 NFL Draft: Ohio State S Caleb Downs

In today’s NFL, the greatest value a safety can offer is the ability to wear a number of different hats.

Just ask the Seahawks about Nick Emmanwori, who helped them win a Super Bowl during his rookie season with his ability to cover receivers in the slot, defend the run, and rush the quarterback.

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Ohio State safety Caleb Downs isn’t exactly the same type of player as Emmanwori. He doesn’t have the same size (he’s about 3 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter), but he has the ability to be a Swiss-Army knife for his new defense in similar fashion.

Downs played just about everywhere in college and was effective in doing so. The first thing that tells you is that he must be a smart football player if he can survive and thrive in a variety of roles. Multiple defensive coordinators wouldn’t have put so much on his plate if they didn’t think he could handle it.

Downs played deep, in the box, in the slot, and near the line of scrimmage. He even played on the perimeter for a handful of snaps, sometimes dropping out into zone as a part of a coverage disguise.

He contributed with his run defense, tackling, coverage, and blitzing ability. I love just about every aspect of his game, but the way he closes like a missile might be at the top of the list:

An arrow through snow:

His willingness to mix it up is a huge part of what makes him successful. Just watch him take on this pulling center and fight through him to make the tackle below: