The Bucs need help on defense. They will no doubt be looking for some of that help in the 2026 NFL Draft. A key point in the pre-draft process is upon us this week, as the NFL Combine commences in Indianapolis. Teams will get to test players’ athleticism and get to meet with them to better understand the person behind the tape.

One of the most heralded prospects in this year’s draft thus far is Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. While the odds are that Downs will not be available when the Bucs pick at 15. But stranger things have happened, and there is always the chance the Bucs move up in the draft. At the very least it is good to be familiar with every player projected to be drafted high. And so I wanted to see what all the hubub was about with Downs.

Other pre-draft evaluations I have completed to this point:

Interior Defensive Line: Lee Hunter

Edge: David Bailey, T.J. Parker, Rueben Bain Jr.

Linebacker:  Sonny Styles, Owen Heinecke, Kyle Louis, Arvell Reese, Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Jacob Rodriguez, Justin Jefferson, C.J. Allen, Anthony Hill Jr., Jake Golday, Keyshaun Elliott, Josiah Trotter

Caleb Downs Background and College Career

Caleb Downs was a multi-sport athlete in high school, playing baseball and basketball in addition to football. He helped his basketball team make the Georgia state tournament as a junior. He is also the brother of Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs.

On the gridiron, he played both offense and defense. Offensively, he put up 27 touchdowns and 648 yards rushing over 102 carries for his career. On defense, he posted 269 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, 43 passes defensed and 19 interceptions.

Downs is now a 21-year-old junior from Ohio State. He was a five-star prospect (#8 overall) in his original recruiting class in 2023. He committed to Alabama and started immediately for Nick Saban’s vaunted defense as a freshman. That year, he recorded 107 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups and a forced fumble. Downs transferred to Ohio State in 2024 following Saban’s retirement. That year he was the nation’s top prospect in the transfer recruiting class.

Over the past two years at Ohio State he totaled 150 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions, eight pass breakups and two forced fumbles. He was named an All-American both years and finished 9th in the Heisman voting in 2025.

Caleb Downs Scouting Report

Games Watched: 2025 Illinois, 2025 UCLA, 2025 Miami, 2025 Michigan

Athleticism

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 205 pounds

Downs is an incredibly fluid athlete. Hips are so loose, allowing him to change directions with amazing ease. And he can gear up to top speed quickly off a change of direction. He is comfortable playing single high because he knows he is one of the best athletes on the field and he can cover so much ground in such a short amount of time.

Explosive lower half helps him start-stop at an elite level and incredible balance to navigate contact. Downs has great joint dexterity to lean and navigate lanes and expose creases as he runs the alley to create disruption in the backfield.

Coverage

Downs has a smooth backpedal and is comfortable getting to a half-turn late in the rep, keeping his eyes on the entire field for longer than most.

He is comfortable and calm, reacting to stems and understands space and angles well. Down’s athleticism allows him to play single-high and he’s comfortable as a split safety rotating up or down. This also allows him to get sticky in man coverage against receivers and backs in addition to tight ends. Downs is capable at the post, but it’s not his superpower. You want him working downhill as a hole defender.

Ohio State S Caleb Downs – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kyle Robertson

Downs is patient in zone coverage, rarely abandoning his responsibility in the flats even when quarterbacks break pocket containment. He plays these situations like an elite hockey defenseman, forcing the quarterback to commit before he makes his move. Downs is confident working in traffic down at the line against bunch looks and is at his best in coverage as a nickel. His ability to sift and sort those route combinations without getting caught in the wash is special.

He is quick and fearless to trigger into the box and challenge passes over the middle, and he loves to deliver a hit to an unsuspecting wide receiver crossing. When shallow crosses are completed, Downs yields little to no yards after catch due to his quick trigger.

Caleb Downs as a true FR matching and carrying the vertical route against Brock Bowers pic.twitter.com/WLVy2ts8N7

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) February 10, 2026

Downs is physical when he picks up crossing routes over the middle, even when the ball isn’t in the air. He wants to make contact and knock a receiver off his route. And he is comfortable undercutting routes across the middle without giving up vertical separation. Downs is active defending screens and is a chore for any receiver to try and block. He often funnels the receiver back to help to limit potential damage.

Downs’ quick feet, ability to change direction, and body flexibility make him a nightmare to cover up on screens. He is consistently working around and through blocks to disrupt those plays and has a penchant for destroying them altogether by himself. His block slippage skills include dips, side-steps, punches, push-pulls and just getting to spots early.

Fitting the Run

Ohio State S Caleb Downs – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Adam Cairns

Downs can run the alley with aggression and speed to affect the run close to the line of scrimmage and he isn’t afraid to take on a puller to set the edge. He rarely gets out-leveraged to the outside and he is a balanced and effective tackler (only a 10.2% missed tackle rate in 2025). His pursuit angles are fantastic and he can be as physical as you will see as a tackler at the position, but other times he comes in too low and will miss tackles because he’s working at the ball carrier’s ankles.

He is an active and eager player in the scheme and will work well coming from depth, working low in the box, or setting edges from the nickel or as the end man on the line. He doesn’t quit playing and will always come to help and clean up tackles. He brings that same fearlessness and energy to the slot and contributes at the line of scrimmage. His best traits in this area surround his ability to avoid, slip, take on and disengage from blocks. Downs brings a linebacker’s mentality and play style to a safety position.

Caleb Downs has such an outstanding range and closing speed to the ball carriers. Physicality in run support is +++ and disciplined. Plays like these are littered everywhere on tape since his FR season. pic.twitter.com/5YExf7LggO

— Jared Feinberg (@Jared_NFLDraft) January 13, 2026

Processing

Downs is quick to diagnose and trigger crossing routes to close windows. He rarely falls prey to eye candy and reads out plays at a high level. Downs is perfect for the modern NFL defense that asks players to rotate late in pre-snap or often post-snap. He doesn’t panic and calmly executes his rotations while keeping his eyes where they need to be.

Pass Rushing

Downs plays with burst, speed, and reckless abandon when his number is called. Will allow nothing to get in his way. He brings pressure and chaos with each electric step. His spool up to top speed, paired with his excellent timing, make him a unique weapon in this regard. His burst worked well blitzing from the slot as well. And he has enough juice that Ohio State wasn’t afraid to mug him up or work him from the end of the line as a pass rusher.

Best Traits

• Downhill trigger
• Run support
• Slot coverage
• Perimeter playmaking

Best Role And How He Fits The Bucs’ System

Caleb Downs is an ideal fit for a modern NFL defense because he is skilled at all three traditional defensive back roles. He can drop into the slot to play nickel, roll down to the box as a run supporter and play both the split and single-hi safety role.

This would be an ideal fit for Todd Bowles’ defense. Adding him to a safety room that includes Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith would allow him to roll all three up and down interchangeably. Late rotations of the three would help all three get involved near the line of scrimmage where they each excel while still making sure that at least one of Downs and Winfield Jr. was working up top. Downs would be a force multiplier added to another one in Winfield that could be transformative on the back end of the defense.

Hear Caleb Downs Speak

Part of NFL Draft evaluations are about more than the tape. Teams want to understand the person as much as the player — how he thinks, how he processes the game, and how he integrates into a locker room. While we don’t have access to the full depth of team interviews, I found an interview Caleb Downs did with CBS Sports back in the summer of 2025.

It’s clear that Downs is an incredibly smart young man with fantastic mental processing speeds. This interview was fun to watch as he had to balance engaging answers to questions while also competing in a game that required him to think ahead. And he did it easily.