New video shows Cowboys' last-minute selection of Caleb Downs during 2026 NFL Draft

The Cowboys offered two packages. The first included pick No. 12 and one fifth-rounder (pick No. 177). Miami rejected that. Dallas then added another fifth-rounder (pick No. 180) to sweeten the deal, which the Dolphins accepted. 

The haggling, however, chewed up the clock. Dallas must have forgotten that teams had eight minutes to finalize their decisions in the first round, down from 10 in 2025. Ten seconds remained before Dallas turned in the card. The draft room erupted after it did so.

Had they not picked before time expired, the Los Angeles Rams (owners of pick No. 13) could've passed the Cowboys. This happened during the 2003 NFL Draft when the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens failed to confirm a trade for picks Nos. 7 and 9 before the 15-minute time limit ended. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers then picked ahead of Minnesota. Baltimore, meanwhile, was forced to move down from No. 7 to No. 10. 

Not wasting those precious seconds could be huge for Dallas. The Cowboys have now landed a player who could transform a defense that allowed the most points (30.1 points per game) in the NFL last season. 

Caleb Downs drew rave reviews at rookie minicamp 

"[Downs is] what we thought," Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said after the first practice on May 1, per The Athletic's Jon Machota. "The person, elite. The intelligence, elite."

Downs, a two-time first-team All-American, was billed as a generational prospect throughout the predraft process. The defensive back meeting those expectations could propel Dallas back into postseason contention after missing the playoffs for two straight seasons.

Downs could clearly blossom into a star immediately. It's good for the Cowboys that they grabbed him in the nick of time during the draft.