The Cowboys' first-round pick, Caleb Downs, has been splitting time as both a punt protector and returner during OTAs. While his willingness to contribute on special teams has drawn praise, one analyst isn't convinced Dallas is using him in the right spot.

Speaking on the DLLS podcast, former Cowboys receiver Jesse Holley praised Downs' maturity and approach but raised concerns about his work as a personal protector on punt units, arguing the role exposes players to unnecessary risk in the middle of the formation.

"Do we need our first-round pick in the personal protector?" Holley said on DLLS Sports. "You don't want them problems in that interior. Trust me. Because the next thing is picking up 290 straight down the middle."

Speaking of Downs, he appears to be enjoying his new assignment, saying it's a tremendous blessing for him to accelerate his development by competing against elite talent.

"It's going well," Downs said in his conversation with the media, as per the Dallas Cowboys. "A really good learning experience for me. Get acclimated with everything, how we practice, what the standard is, and everything like that. I think it's an awesome time and I'm looking forward to next week in minicamp."

While Downs is happy with the positions he's been given, there has been criticism that the punt protector spot lines up near the interior of the formation, exposing players to contact from bigger blockers. An injury to him would be drastic for the Cowboys team.

Learning From Turpin: Caleb Downs' Special Teams Mentorship

Downs didn’t just handle punts during his junior season at Ohio State; he has recorded 10 punt returns across his college career, including one year at Alabama. On top of that, he is averaging an impressive 18.5 yards per return with two touchdowns.

As ESPN’s Todd Archer, a Cowboys beat writer, noted on X this week, “Caleb Downs played some in the slot and more in the back end than he did in the first OTA we saw last week. During the special teams period, he returned some punts and also acted as the personal protector.”

That said, Caleb Downs is learning the ropes from one of the game's most skilled wide receivers, KaVontae Turpin, according to Cowboys Wire.

“There’s nobody better to learn from in terms of special teams than Turp, so, it’s great to be able to speak to him about punt return and everything. That’s something I have done, and I have done it at a high level, so I think it is a good thing for me, too,” said Caleb Downs as per Heavy.

Well, it's too soon to say whether he could perform well as a punt protector, but for now, the Cowboys are certainly testing his value in the role.

What are your thoughts on Caleb Downs' potential role? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Rudra Dubey