Caleb Downs remains one of the top defensive back prospects in the NFL draft, but questions about his knee could still affect how teams view him.

Despite not missing a game in college and building an elite résumé that included multiple All-America honors and the 2025 Jim Thorpe Award, Downs became the subject of medical scrutiny after a report said he arrived at the combine with a partially torn meniscus and a potentially degenerative ACL.

Downs pushed back on that report at Pro Day, saying there was no truth to the degenerative knee claim.

“Nothing,” Downs told Steelers Now. “That’s not what my medical says.”

Pro Football Doc urged caution when the report first emerged, saying combine medical information can easily become distorted as it moves from doctors to scouts to media.

“First of all, there’s a game of telephone going on here,” he said. “Yes, there was an issue on his medical, but how significant that issue is may not be fully understood.”

Downs did positional drills at Ohio State's Pro Day but skipped athletic testing, and he also did not work out at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Drawing from his experience attending more than 20 combines, Pro Football Doc emphasized that it is rare for prospects to be eliminated from consideration solely based on medical evaluations.

“There are about 330 athletes there, and there aren’t three who are ruled out by me or other doctors,” he said. “The number is usually one or zero.”

Downs’ draft outlook may ultimately depend on how individual teams interpret his medical information, but absent broader confirmation of the reported diagnosis, his status as one of the draft’s premier prospects remains largely intact heading into the next phase of the evaluation process.

As the 2026 NFL Draft approaches, teams are doing more than just reviewing game tape; they're digging deep into medical histories. While talent is paramount, durability is critical in a league where physical attrition is a weekly reality. Several top prospects enter the draft with injury concerns that could affect their stock, especially as teams weigh short-term availability against long-term risk.

At SIC, we’ve analyzed the most notable health-related storylines among top NFL hopefuls, using both medical insight and positional value to assess how injuries could shape their draft outcomes.

Check out the 2026 NFL Draft Injury Guide


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