INDIANAPOLIS — There are two words that could stand in the way of Caleb Downs coming to the Giants at the No. 5 pick in the 2026 draft:
Positional value.
Say it louder for those in the back:
Positional value.
Downs, you see, is a safety, and when teams prioritize where they need to invest with draft picks and how they need to allocate salary cap space, that position is almost always in the lower half of depth chart considerations.
“Positional value is kind of a little bit new, but you always knew that quarterbacks are really important,” head coach John Harbaugh said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We always knew that corners are really important, especially if you’re playing man coverage.
“You’ve got to put as many good football players as you can out there, so you don’t want to sacrifice a really good player because it’s not a need or a value position. They’re all important.”
Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine. Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images
Downs could be the exception to the long-standing history of safeties having to wait around before hearing their name called up high in the first round.
The last safety to go in the top 10 was Jamal Adams, to the Jets at No. 6 in 2017. Sean Taylor went No. 5 in 2004 to Washington and Eric Berry No. 5 to the Chiefs in 2010. Eric Turner went No. 2 overall in 1991, to the Browns, the highest for a safety in the modern era of pro football.
When a team needs help on defense, edge rushers and cornerbacks fly off the board — there’s that positional value. Downs is going to break the mold April 23, as some team is going to write his name on the card early in the first round. Will it be the Giants?
General manager Joe Schoen certainly does not discount positional value — remember his stances on a running back (Saquon Barkley) and a safety (Xavier McKinney). But those were free agent negotiations, not draft equity. And now, with Harbaugh heavily involved, the draft decisions could sway toward his line of thinking.
Still, for the Giants to take Downs at No. 5, they would have to view him as something more than a safety. They would have to view him the way he views himself.
Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs plays against Minnesota this past season. AP
“At the end of the day, it’s who’s the best defender,” Downs said Thursday. “It’s not really positional value, it’s who affects the game. If you affect the game in a lot of ways, that’s what’s most important. At the end of the day, my film is what it is and they’re gonna make a decision based off that.”
So,