Earlier this week in the locker room at The Star, Cowboys rookie first-round pick Caleb Downs was asked about the best piece of advice he has gotten since he has been in OTAs–which started last week and will wrap up this week before minicamp begins–with veteran teammates. He did not hesitate: “I mean, just focus on your job. One of the guys came in yesterday and said, keep the main thing the main thing.”
Those are platitudes, of course, but they also might be a little bit confusing for Downs. That’s because, in the short time he has been with the Cowboys, his job has been fluid. No doubt, Downs is a safety, the position at which he starred at Ohio State for the past two seasons (and at Alabama the season before that) but he has bumped into more of a slot corner role. New defensive coordinator Christian Parker, apparently, intends on discharging his surplus of safety talent that way on the Cowboys defense.
But the Cowboys are putting Downs in some different spots on special teams, too, and that could have some implications elsewhere on the roster.
Cowboys Working Caleb Downs at Punt Returner
Downs has returned punts before, though he did not do so last year as a junior for the Buckeyes. He did, though, return 10 punts as a freshman and sophomore, and the results were remarkable–10 returns, an average of 18.5 yards per return and two touchdowns. The Cowboys are, apparently, interested in tapping into that Downs skillset.
As ESPN’s Todd Archer, a Cowboys beat writer, noted on Twitter/X this week: “Caleb Downs played some in the slot and more in the back end than he did in the first OTA we saw last week. During special teams period, he returned some punts and also acted as the personal protector.”
Could Cowboys Part With KaVonte Turpin?
It is only June and the Cowboys are still in the midst of their OTAs, so it’s a bit too early to read to heavily into that. But there has been speculation among regulars at The Star that return man KaVontae Turpin–who is also the team’s fourth wide receiver–could be on the chopping block at training camp this summer.
Turpin is a fine returner (he has been selected to three Pro Bowls as a returner) but the Cowboys have not been all that enamored with using him as a fourth-receiver gadget player. If the Cowboys want Downs to return punts, they could have Jaydon Blue return kicks and would suddenly be able to use that fourth receiver slot for a young player like Jonathan Mingo, rookie UDFA Jordan Hudson or seventh-round pick Anthony Smith.
The Cowboys also appear to like veteran free-agent signee Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Caleb Downs Learning From KaVontae Turpin
For now, though, Downs is still learning from Turpin, and it may be that the Cowboys are eyeing replacing Turpin down the road, not this offseason.
Said Downs: “There’s nobody better to learn from in terms of special teams than Turp, so, it’s great to be able to speak to him about punt return and everything. That’s something I have done, and I have done it at a high level, so I think it is a good thing for me, too.”
Cowboys’ New Caleb Downs Plan Could Be Trouble for Pro Bowler