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Many Cincinnati Bengals fans have spent this offseason clamoring for the Bengals to draft several different defensive players. With as many holes as Cincinnati’s defense has, fans have fallen in love with multiple prospects at different positions.
One name you heard frequently was Ohio State University safety Caleb Downs. Downs has been lauded as one of the top prospects in the entire NFL Draft, let alone the top safety prospect. With Geno Stone set to move on in free agency, many fans want to see Downs take his place.
Some questions came up last week at the NFL Scouting Combine when Downs didn’t do workouts, and there was a report that he suffered a partially torn meniscus. That news typically isn’t a big deal, but there was also a report that he has a degenerative ACL. Effectively, the report stated that his ACL would deteriorate over time, similar to what running back Todd Gurley dealt with coming out of Georgia.
Naturally, this sparked debate and concern for Downs as a prospect for not only Bengals fans, but fans and executives around the NFL. Such a sure-fire prospect having such a concerning diagnosis is certainly something that could shake up the draft board.
After this news, Downs’ family has spoken out, referring to the reports as “clickbait” and saying they are false.
ESPN’s Pat McAfee said he reached out to multiple NFL teams about Downs, and they said there’s “nothing in the medical that would deter them from bringing Caleb Downs in.”
Former NFL defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko also said that he spoke with an executive from an AFC East team, who referred to it as “bad reporting.”
Reports like this come out about players every draft season and in today’s world, it is almost impossible to determine what the truth is, so teams will likely do extensive research into Downs’ knee and make that decision for themselves.
The Bengals did meet with Downs at the combine and will likely meet with him again before the draft and if they have serious interest in drafting him, expect them to do a deep dive into his medicals beforehand.