Josh Downs Shares His Preferred Draft Landing Spots for Superstar Brother Caleb Downs

NFL Draft talk is heating up, and Ohio State superstar safety Caleb Downs has been widely discussed in recent days.

As one of the top prospects coming out this year, regardless of position, Downs has been projected as high as No. 2 overall by a few observers.

Now, brother Josh Downs -- who plays wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts -- has also chimed in on his preferred destination for Caleb, during a recent interview with “Overtime”

“The Bengals or the Giants would be pretty cool”, responded the older Downs, who was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

He then went on to discuss his reasons for picking Cincy and New York as his top landing spots for Caleb Downs, a two-time Unanimous All-American for Ohio State that helped fuel the Buckeyes' National Championship in 2024.

“Bengals, one of my dawgs, DJ Turner, played in their secondary, and their linebacker Barrett Carter, I went to high school with both of them dudes. They’re gonna build something over there.

“And then, the Giants like, I just like New York City, and then I feel like the Giants got a good little squad, they’re young, and they can get right.”

Josh Downs stated specifically that his choices were based on the current draft order, explaining that playing alongside his brother Caleb would be the first option. However, Indianapolis isn’t slated to pick until the second round, at the 47th overall spot, due to them trading away their first rounder this year to the Jets as part of a package for cornerback Sauce Gardner.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati owns the 10th overall selection, while the Giants pick fifth.

Where can Caleb Downs reasonably expect to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft?

Even though Josh Downs mentions two teams picking in the Top-10, their current spots might not be high enough to nab Caleb Downs.

The Ohio State superstar has been mentioned as a possibility for the second overall pick, which belongs to another New York team, the Jets. Caleb Downs has also been linked via multiple mock drafts to teams like the Cardinals at 3, Titans at 4, Browns at 6, Washington at 7 and Chiefs at 9. There has also been speculation that a team like Dallas might want to trade up in the draft order to grab him within the Top-8 picks.

While safety isn’t traditionally viewed as a high value position as a quarterback, left tackle or edge rusher would be for draft purposes, Caleb Downs could break the mold due to his rare traits.

Draft	Pick	Safety	School	Team
2017	6	Jamal Adams	LSU	Jets
2012	7	Mark Barron	Alabama	Buccaneers
2010	5	Eric Berry	Tennessee	Chiefs
2007	6	LaRon Landry	LSU	Washington
2006	7	Michael Huff	Texas	Raiders
2006	8	Donte Whitner	Ohio State	Bills
2004	5	Sean Taylor	Miami	Washington
2002	8	Roy Williams	Oklahoma	Cowboys

* Since 2002

Drafting a safety in the Top-10 is an uncommon occurrence, as it’s happened just eight times since 2002 -- when the league expanded to 32 teams -- none going higher than 5. The highest a safety has ever been drafted is second overall, when Cleveland took Eric Turner out of UCLA in 1991, a whole different era.

In any case, Caleb Downs is an uncommon talent, so expect him to go somewhere within the first five picks, whether it be a team already standing there or someone trading up to snatch him.

Where can Caleb Downs reasonably expect to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft?

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