Landing former Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs was always a priority for the Dallas Cowboys. After two months of the draft, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer has now revealed how close the team came to taking a different path with the Kansas City Chiefs to secure Downs.

During his recent appearance on The Twins Take Podcast on July 4, Schottenheimer revealed the behind-the-scenes details of the trade they had in place with the Chiefs to trade up for Downs at No. 9.

"We had four guys targeted that we really felt really strongly about that would fit great in our culture, and our football team, and Caleb was at the top of that list," Schottenheimer said during the podcast. "We actually had a deal in place. We had a trade in place with Kansas City that we were hoping to be able to make a move for."

Schottenheimer revealed that the Cowboys wanted Downs on their roster, as they believed he was a perfect fit for the franchise's culture. But Kansas City had other plans.

"Well, they moved up early in the draft to the top four or five for Mansoor Delane, so we were kind of like, okay, we've lost that opportunity," Schottenheimer said during The Twins Take podcast on July 4. "But the draft is very, it's the unknown, and so as Caleb started to fall, he was hitting their 9, 10."

Meanwhile, the Chiefs dropped their plans with the Cowboys as they viewed LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane as a "top 5" prospect. They traded up to No. 6 (from No. 9) with the Cleveland Browns to secure Delane, by also giving up Nos. 74 and 148.

Even though the Chiefs had other draft plans that did not align with the Cowboys, they were relieved when the New York Giants passed on Downs.

The Giants used their second first-round pick (No. 10) to secure former Miami Hurricanes guard Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. The Cowboys acted immediately to secure Downs and moved up by one pick (from No. 12 to No. 11) by trading with the Miami Dolphins.

The Cowboys ultimately landed their top target, and Downs backed up the hype by impressing teammates and coaches throughout the offseason.

Dak Prescott delivers a strong endorsement of Caleb Downs

Cowboys' quarterback, Dak Prescott, gave a bold assessment of rookie Downs and praised him for his leadership and versatility to play at multiple positions (safety, nickelback, and linebacker).

"True young pro," Prescott said, per Tommy Yarrish of Dallas Cowboys.com. "I could talk about him honestly all day. He's wired the right way. Super excited for him to be on that defense, to lead the defense."

Prescott revealed that he had spent time with the rookie playing golf together outside the facility and was impressed with his work ethic and his constant urge to keep learning and improving his play.

Prescott believes that Downs is a good example of the "whole rookie class" as he headlined it as the first-round pick, whom the Cowboys view as "the quarterback of defense."

What do you think of Kansas City's role in keeping Dallas under pressure? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar