Could Caleb Downs fall out of the Top 10 in the NFL Draft?

Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano and NFL writers Charles Robinson and Frank Schwab discuss if safety Caleb Downs could fall out of the Top 10 in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Check out the full conversation on “Inside Coverage” – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

Wow.

I think there is a chance he falls out of the top 10.

See, Rob?

I’m gonna sell him falling out of the top 10 only because I think the strength of the draft is, is really helping him.

I agree.

And, and I think as you- I don’t mind anymore if I’m honest with you.

Easy.

Go ahead.

Yeah.

I don’t, I don’t I, I just think again, leaning once again on the All Juice team, and he wasn’t even on the All Juice team, but, but a lot of teams that I talked to when I said, you know, “Give me the best profile that you have off of tape.”

Like, let’s, let’s not talk about Oh, sorry about that.

Let’s not talk about, testing, let’s not talk about, you know, what happened at the combine.

Just tell me when you watch tape, give me the three or four best guys in the draft.

And he repeatedly popped up as a player where they’re like, “Look, he was complete at Alabama, he was complete at Ohio State.”

Yep.

“He did nothing but play in big games constantly.

Yeah, we get it, he’s a safety.

Yeah, you know, he didn’t do a- a- all the pre-draft stuff that we would’ve liked.

But on tape, he looks,” as Andrew, you just said, “as clean as almost any player in this draft.”

So it’s hard for me to believe in this particular draft seeing him slip out of the top 10.

Yeah.

R- by the way, real quick aside, you guys did You and Charles McDonald did a phenomenal job- Mm-hmm with the All Juice team.

Such a great legacy thing for Torres- Appreciate it.

Thank you our great friend.

And everybody should go read it ’cause it’s a annually one of my favorite reads every year, a must-read before the draft.

Just wanted to say that- Wow before we move on.

Now, getting to the safety thing.

I, I think at some point the, the worm is gonna turn on safeties.

The teams are gonna realize, “Okay, all these, all these offenses are messing with us with this v- versatility they have with their formations.

Now they’re going to more multiple tight ends.

How do we combat that?”

Well, it’s with a chess piece- Yeah like a Caleb Downs and- Big nickel eventually the safety If you could go back and redo the Cale- the Kyle Hamilton draft, he doesn’t go 14.

Right.

If you go back and redo the last year’s draft, even Warrick doesn’t- Brian Branch goes higher go in the second round.

Yep.

Brian Branch doesn’t go.

Like- Yep.

Those are mistakes so eventually teams are gonna say, “Hmm, maybe we’re making mistakes.”

I, I, I have to sell, sell, sell this because I can’t imagine a smart team like the Kansas City Chiefs lets him pass.

if you look at the what they need in the secondary after a bad off-season- Painful off-season at that position, they have a lot of needs.

They do.

They, they need edge rusher, they need offensive line.

It’d be a sweet pick by the Chiefs.

But I’m saying, I’m say To me anyway, I think Caleb might be the best player period in this draft.

I If you’re just taking positional, you know, that stuff out of it, I think Caleb Downs might just be the straight up best player in the draft and I think that’s a smart organization, and they kinda need something in their defensive backfield after losing three starters in free agency.

I think the Chiefs take I don’t think I, I just can’t imag- I guess there’s a scenario where somebody like Reese falls to nine, some weird scenario.

But in normal settings, I just don’t think the Chiefs pass at nine, so I gotta sell this.

Could Caleb Downs fall out of the Top 10 in the NFL Draft?

Tags: