The Cowboys wanted Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Badly. It wouldn’t be easy, since Dallas was drafting 12th and Downs was a top-five player. So …
- First, the Cowboys tried to trade up to No. 9 to get ahead of the Giants, but the Browns refused.
- Once John Harbaugh’s team passed on Downs in favor of tackle Francis Mauigoa, Dallas tried again. The second time was the charm. Miami moved down one spot in exchange for Dallas’ No. 12 and two fifth-round selections.
Much like Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton in 2022, Downs feels like a sure thing. Reminder: Downs, drafted 11th, ranked No. 5 among Dane Brugler’s top 300 prospects. He and Tampa Bay’s Rueben Bain Jr. ended up being the biggest bargains in Dane’s top 10:
Why is everyone so confident in Downs, though? He’s been elite at every level. He was a five-star recruit, impressed Nick Saban as an Alabama freshman, finished as the anchor of a loaded Ohio State defense and was “pound for pound the best player in the draft,” per my colleague Scott Dochterman.
So far, so good. Our beat reporter Jon Machota saw Downs at the Cowboys’ rookie minicamp, hearing glowing praise from coach Brian Schottenheimer after just the first day of practices: “(He’s) what we thought. The person, elite. The intelligence, elite.”
As for other early impressions …
The most interesting rookie is Uar Bernard, the seventh-round pick from Nigeria who had his first-ever practice as a member of a football team … at Philly’s minicamp. Read that sentence again. He needed help with his chinstrap, but otherwise sounds like he belongs.
The main draft-weekend faller was Raiders cornerback Jermod McCoy, a top-15 talent at Tennessee who dropped to the fourth due to injury concerns. Though he’s been catching punts, the team is slowly easing him in. He could be the steal of the draft, if healthy.
For a non-rookie update, it sounds like Deshaun Watson has a legitimate shot to be the Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 1. Could he recapture his Pro Bowl form? I’m skeptical. Still, Cleveland is trending up after an impressive draft haul.
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Nine offseason champs
There are three types of teams: contenders, almost contenders and everyone else.
The Chiefs have long been the prototypical contender, the Steelers the paragon of the almost contenders … and the Jets, Browns and Raiders are usually in the third bucket.
So I thought Ted was smart for evaluating the nine best offseasons within the context of those three groups, looking at which upgrades stood out among each type. His top trio at each level:
One team we haven’t been touching on often: the Saints. They have a quarterback in sophomore Tyler Shough, who nearly won Offensive Rookie of the Year with a 5-4 record in his nine starts.
“(He) probably progressed a little faster than maybe we expected,” said general manager Mickey Loomis. “But I think our coaches did a great job with him. I think our players embraced his opportunity.”
As Ted explains, New Orleans spent this offseason improving the 26-year-old Shough’s supporting cast:
💬 “Through free agency, they added the best guard on the market in David Edwards. Tight end Noah Fant gives them the ability to line up in a very athletic, 12-personnel grouping with Juwan Johnson, and running back Travis Etienne Jr. is a solid chain mover.
“First-round pick Jordyn Tyson has naturally deceptive body language that the NFL’s top receivers have, and he pairs with Chris Olave, coming off a career year. Shough now has all the tools he needs to prove that he can be the franchise quarterback.”
The full story has more on the offseason’s nine risers. As for a New Orleans division rival …
🎙 ‘TAFS’: The Bucs need Baker
Tampa Bay might not be one of Ted’s nine, but the team’s future would be a firm buy for “The Athletic Football Show” co-host Dave Helman … if it extends Mayfield’s contract. His three-year, $100 million deal expires in March 2027.
Here’s Dave on this week’s “TAFS” episode:
“I think Baker is probably the Buccaneers’ best chance at a quarterback answer over the next three years. I’d rather have Baker under contract for three more seasons than try to venture out into the wilderness.
“Re-signing Baker (would give) me a blueprint that I can follow. Even if Todd Bowles isn’t the long-term coach in Tampa Bay, if Baker’s there, then you can use Baker to attract whichever coach wants to work with him. … I don’t think the Bucs are going to win the Super Bowl this year. And if that’s the case and Baker Mayfield’s not under contract, then where is this all leading?”
Dave and Robert Mays also cover the Panthers, Steelers, Commanders, Colts, Vikings and Bengals in this week’s episode. You can watch that on YouTube here.
Extra Points
👀 Ever wonder … what happens when Adam Schefter wants to break news but has bad Wi-Fi? This video is your answer.
📓 Inside Washington. It’s special whenever two of my colleagues join forces for a story. This look at how the Commanders returned to D.C. is an unlikely saga you’ll want to read. Unlocked for you here.
🆓 The 2027 class of free agents is a strong one, though plenty will change. Matthew Stafford and Jonathan Taylor are two big names to watch. Here’s the full list.
📈 2027’s draft odds are here, with Oregon’s Dante Moore on the heels of Texas’ Arch Manning.
🗂 Congrats, Grandma! Someone’s grandmother won 2026 by pulling this one-of-one Josh Allen card. Wholesome.
▶️ Thursday’s most-clicked: I want to tell you it was this post-draft outlook for all 32 teams. But it wasn’t. It was Jets fans explaining their misery in this Google Sheet.
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