Even three months later, it’s still surreal that the Dallas Cowboys found a way to get Caleb Downs on their team. From the post-draft press conference, the front office made it sound like Downs was their guy all along. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer recently talked about how the team made sure they had a draft day trade in place to go get their guy.
Talking on The Twins Take Podcast, Schottenheimer said the Cowboys had a trade in place with the Kansas City Chiefs to go up to ninth overall and take Downs. Of course, that never happened, considering the Chiefs traded up with the Cleveland Browns to go get cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Dallas had to play the waiting game. Schottenheimer said that as Downs continued to fall, they were worried about the New York Giants taking him after John Harbaugh saw him as a generational safety. Harbaugh had just come from a situation where he had Kyle Hamilton used as a Swiss army knife in his defense with the Ravens in Baltimore. Many Giants fans were hoping to leave draft night with Arvell Reese and Downs, but New York went with Francis Mauigoa instead.
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That opened the door for the Cowboys to trade up with the Miami Dolphins at 11. Schotty said other teams knew how much Dallas liked Downs through the process, so the trade made sure the safety’s fall would stop there, and no one could steal him out from under the Cowboys.
Fast forward to July, and the hype around Downs and what he could be for the remodeled Dallas defense this year is one of training camp’s top storylines.
The Cowboys haven’t put the investment into the safety position like they have this offseason for a long time. Their highest-paid free agent signing was Jalen Thompson, who plays safety. That could have something to do with the Christian Parker effect. Even though it didn’t happen, the front office’s conviction to move into the top ten to take Downs is certainly a change for the better.
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