Cowboys' Caleb Downs gets good news in season outlook

The Dallas Cowboys have a fresh season ahead, and they're hoping this is the one that takes them all the way. Or, they at least hope it takes them to the playoffs for the first time in years.

Heading into this season, they have a new star on defense in safety Caleb Downs. This team expects a lot of Downs, but that's OK, because he seems ready to handle the pressure.

On Wednesday, NFL insider Dan Graziano of ESPN published a feature naming bold predictions for all 32 NFL teams. He highlights Downs in there, and it's in a good way.

Caleb Downs could become a key piece for the Cowboys

In the piece, Graziano says that Downs could "never leave the field" during the 2026-27 season. Of course, he doesn't mean that literally. Or, does he?

"OK, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but the Cowboys believe they can use Downs in a ton of different ways," he says in the piece. "In their ideal world, he and veteran safety Jalen Thompson are interchangeable in the safety and nickel roles."

He adds that "Downs got a lot of work at nickel during camp, and Dallas has faith in his ability to play deep safety. The Cowboys believe in his ability to cover top receivers if that's what they need from him, and they think he will be instantly capable of communicating at a high level and helping keep things organized on the defense."

So, the Cowboys went after Downs hoping he could be good to go for the very first game of the season. So far, nothing has happened that would indicate otherwise.