Which Jim Thorpe Award-winning safety did Dallas draft in round one?

Caleb Downs was the Jim Thorpe Award-winning safety Dallas selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.

The Cowboys chose Downs with the 11th overall pick after trading up one spot with Miami. The selection reunited Dallas with a versatile defensive back who had already built an elite college résumé at Alabama and Ohio State. He entered the NFL after three college seasons and was regarded as one of the draft’s most complete safeties.

Downs began at Alabama, where he won SEC Freshman of the Year in 2023, then transferred to Ohio State after Nick Saban’s retirement. With the Buckeyes, he won the 2024 national championship and became a unanimous All-American. In 2025, he added the Jim Thorpe Award, which recognizes the nation’s top defensive back, as well as the Lott Trophy.

The wording can cause a mix-up because Downs was drafted by Dallas at No. 11, not with one of the very top picks. The Cowboys originally held the 12th selection and moved up to ensure they could take him. Other listed safeties were not Dallas’s first-round choice.