History Suggests Ohio State Football's Caleb Downs Will Be Top-13 Pick

The Ohio State Buckeyes knew they had a star on their hands when they landed the transfer of former Alabama Crimson Tide standout safety Caleb Downs in 2024.

Downs was a stud during his lone season in SEC play and continued that superstar trajectory with the Buckeyes, helping lead one of the best secondaries in college football. Downs is now the top dog in the secondary and will have more weight on his shoulders, but he should easily be ready for the challenge.

Seen as the best safety in college football by Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick at Pro Football Focus, Downs joins an elite group, one that features Trevor Lawrence, Derek Stingley Jr. and Brock Bowers, all have whom have had solid NFL careers to this point. That group is one in which the player was seen as the best at his position by PFF for two straight years, which is quite the feat in college athletics. Another fact about those three is that each went on to be a top-13 pick, with Lawrence selected atop his draft class.

"Lawrence, Stingley and Bowers went on to become top-15 draft picks, an achievement that Downs seems poised to accomplish next April. He projects as the top player in the 2026 NFL Draft right now as the best defensive player in college football," PFF wrote.

Downs was No. 2 among all college athlets with Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith coming in at No. 1.