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Pat McAfee shoots down speculation about potential Caleb Downs injury from NFL Combine

by: Alex Byington10 hours ago_AlexByington

Former Ohio State safety Caleb Downs became the unfortunate victim of wild rumors regarding the long-term health of his knees during the final days of last week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. They originated from a Substack post from Daft on Draft‘s Cory Kinnan, who reported NFL officials allegedly flagged Downs with a “partially torn meniscus” and a “potentially degenerative ACL” during the Combine’s intensive medical testing last week.

Downs, a projected Top 10 pick in late April’s 2026 NFL Draft, didn’t participate in any onsite workouts while in Indianapolis and hasn’t formally addressed that “report” yet. But that didn’t stop it from going viral on social media. So much so that ESPN’s Pat McAfee felt the need to address the Downs rumor during Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show.

“Everything right now is smoke and mirrors when it comes to prospects, especially really good prospects. You never know what’s real and what isn’t real,” McAfee began Tuesday. “… Multiple NFL teams have told us there is nothing in the medical (report) that would deter us from bringing Caleb Downs in, especially with how great a football player he is. It feels like part of this entire process — and who knows what’s real and what isn’t. But we do know this made its run on the internet. There were a lot of people around the league and fan bases saying, ‘Hold on, I was told Downs was flagged with a partially torn meniscus this week.’

“That’s not a serious concern, but also being flagged with a potentially degenerative ACL — these are big deals when you’re talking about investing millions of dollars into a player, especially one who could be a franchise piece,” McAfee continued. “But every NFL team we talked to — there wasn’t one that said anything was wrong. And we talked to multiple teams. So, this feels like this is all bullshit. But this is kind of the name of the game this time (of year), because that might be a team that likes him the most putting that out there actually hoping he will fall a little bit (in the draft).”

Downs is a true NFL legacy whose older brother, Josh, is an Indianapolis Colts receiver and whose father, Gary, played played seven seasons in the NFL in the mid-to-late 1990s. The 6-foot safety is widely considered among the Top 5 best players in the entire 2026 draft class, and has been a premier talent since high school, when the former Five-Star Plus+ prospect signed with Alabama as the No. 5 overall player in the 2023 recruiting cycle out of Georgia.

After leading the Crimson Tide with 107 tackles as a true freshman in 2023, Downs transferred to Ohio State where he quickly established himself as a versatile leader in the Buckeyes’ FBS-best defense the past two seasons. That included finishing third on the team in 2025 with 68 tackles, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, one sack and six run stops.