Nearly three months after the NFL Draft, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer has now revealed that the team had a draft-day trade in place with the Kansas City Chiefs to secure Downs, early in the first round, that could have made him a top-10 pick.

During the recent episode of The Twins Take Podcast on July 4, Schottenheimer revealed that the Cowboys expected to draft Downs at No. 9 by trading up with the Chiefs. But the Chiefs traded up aggressively to No. 6 with the Cleveland Browns to secure LSU’s cornerback Mansoor Delane.

“We had four guys targeted that we 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, per the Twins Take podcast on July 4. “We actually had a trade in place with Kansas City that we were hoping to make. Well, they moved up early in the draft to the top four or five for Mansoor Delane, and we were like, ‘Okay, we've lost that opportunity."

Schottenheimer also mentioned on The Twins Take Podcast that as Downs started to fall near the tenth pick, they were anxious about the New York Giants landing Downs, considering head coach John Harbaugh's interest in the Ohio State safety.

"The Giants were on the clock at 10, and we thought they'd take him because we knew Coach Harbaugh had talked about seeing him as a generational safety," Schottenheimer said. "When they didn't take him, he fell to 11. The phone rang, and we were talking back and forth with Miami."

The Giants instead used their second top-10 pick to secure former Miami Hurricanes guard Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. The Cowboys traded up to No. 11 from their original 12th pick in the first round with the Miami Dolphins to secure Downs.

Schottenheimer further added that the Cowboys' executives acted fast, as they viewed Downs as the "quarterback of the defense" and weren't willing to risk another team trading ahead to select him. In fact, this belief has even led to early green dot conversations.

DC Christian Parker praises Caleb Downs' work ethic

First-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker has praised Downs for his football IQ and his work ethic on multiple instances. He has stated that Downs has already lived up to his hype during the offseason workout sessions.

"He’s as advertised," Parker said, per X post of Jon Machota. "He's a worker. He looks for coaching. He wants to be corrected. He wants more information. And he works as hard as he can with the extras and everything else. He's been good to work with, and I think that he's trying to advance at the right rate."

Downs is expected to play at the nickel slot, allowing him to cover receivers and play in the box, making him a key contributor in the secondary, under the 3-4 defensive scheme of DC Parker.

If Downs' offseason progress carries into training camp and regular season, the rookie could quickly become the centerpiece of Parker's revamped secondary in the 2026 season.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote