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By Megan Armstrong
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Former Ohio State standout safety Caleb Downs dominated college football. After spending his freshman year at Alabama, where he led the SEC in solo tackles with 70, Downs transferred to Ohio State in January 2024. As a Buckeye, Downs was named an All-American and won the national championship in 2024, then somehow topped that with All-American and 2025 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors last season.
Expectedly, Downs has been tabbed as a pro-ready player with star potential for a while.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. projected him going as high as No. 2 to the New York Jets in April's 2026 NFL Draft, which would make Downs the highest-drafted safety since 1991. Elsewhere, The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll and Dane Brugler projected Downs to land with the New York Giants at No. 7, and ESPN's Matt Miller had him going No. 7 to the Washington Commanders.
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Unexpectedly, Downs ran into an issue during last week's 2026 NFL Combine that will interest any team planning to invest such high draft capital in him.
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According to Cory Kinnan, an anonymous NFC scout relayed that Downs "had a couple of issues flagged during his medical check" at the Combine in Indianapolis.
"Nobody expected him to test this week anyway, so it flew a bit under the radar," Kinnan wrote. "However, I was told that Downs was flagged with a partially torn meniscus this week. That is not a serious concern, but also being flagged with a potentially degenerative ACL is."
Kinnan clarified, "Now, this is not to signify any sort of a significant drop for Downs, who likely will return and get a second opinion and a second check. Besides, plenty of NFL players have been flagged with degenerative knees before, but have gone on to have successful NFL careers."
Kinnan likened this to when former Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell fell to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 31 in last year's draft after being flagged for medical concerns. For whatever that's worth, Campbell played all 17 games (10 starts) for the Eagles during his rookie season in 2025.
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