Bill Cowher gives Caleb Downs a Hall-of-Fame comparison to fire fans up

Bill Cowher hasn’t made an NFL Draft selection in 20 years. He’ll soon watch Mike McCarthy sit in the Pittsburgh Steelers head coaching chair that he once occupied during this time of year. But Cowher still knows how to speak highly of talent when he sees one…this time Caleb Downs.

His Hall-of-Fame comparison will fire up the fanbase that takes in the Ohio State star safety.

Cowher sat down with The Dan Patrick Show ahead of Pittsburgh hosting the draft. The longtime Steelers coach believes Downs plays like a legendary Pittsburgh star he coached.

“A guy like Caleb Downs, to me, is a guy that is one of those types of guys that you can put him anywhere on the field – reminds me a lot of Troy Polamalu,” Cowher told Patrick. “Troy Polamalu was a really disruptive player.”

"A guy like Caleb Downs, to me, is a guy that is one of those types of guys that you can put him anywhere on the field – reminds me a lot of Troy Polamalu."

– @CowherCBS on Caleb Downs & Troy Polamalu. pic.twitter.com/B2x8GWn9Zn

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) April 23, 2026

Downs enters this class as one of the more complete safeties to enter the league. He’s a “high-effort” defender as described by Lance Zierlein of the NFL Network.

“Downs is an alpha who brings immense juice on each snap. He’s at his best when deployed near the line as a box safety or big nickel back,” Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation.

Zierlein’s own words paints Downs as a “Polamalu” for the NFL. The Hall-of-Famer earned a reputation for crashing down the line of scrimmage to disrupt plays. Plus disrupted passes dropping back into coverage during his illustrious career.

Downs took a different journey to the league; stopping first at Alabama before transferring to Ohio State. But Downs embraced his Buckeyes chapter which included dropping a profound message on draft night.

Final mock drafts list Downs as a top 10 talent, including one picking the New York Giants to grab him at 10th overall.

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