It took one Dallas Cowboys practice to reveal something surprising about first-round rookie Caleb Downs. The Cowboys held their first open practice of training camp in Oxnard, California, and the early defensive alignment was very revealing. That starts with the first-round rookie’s usage.

Cowboys use Downs everywhere in first practice

For months, the Cowboys had Caleb Downs penciled in as the starting nickel cornerback. That may still be the case come September. But based on what reporters saw on the field during Day 1 of camp, Dallas appears willing to deploy Downs all over the defense, not just in the slot.

According to Joseph Hoyt from the Dallas Morning News, Downs did start the practice session at nickel. However, Hoyt offered a revealing observation that caught my attention:

“In the last three plays I have seen, Cowboys rookie Caleb Downs line up near the edge in the box and play deep middle third,” Hoyt wrote on social media. “They wanted a versatile defensive back and they plan to use downs accordingly.”

What Downs’ versatility means for Dallas

Listen, I don’t want to overreact. It’s one practice. Pads aren’t even on yet. But I also don’t want to underreact.

I think this is significant. The Cowboys would not be moving Caleb Downs around like this if they were locked in with him at nickel. They wouldn’t waste valuable reps doing it in the first training camp practice if it weren’t part of a larger vision. The end goal, it seems, is to make Downs a true do-it-all defensive back.

I’m in love with what the Seattle Seahawks did with Nick Emmanwori. They drafted him in the second round as a safety, then locked him into the nickel role. That allowed head coach Mike Macdonald to do whatever he wanted on defense regardless of opposing offensive personnel. If the Cowboys can figure that out with Downs and get a similar result, the ceiling for this defense goes up considerably.

And yet, I would have been simultaneously underwhelmed if Dallas chose not to use Downs’ versatility. After all, that was the calling card he had at Ohio State as he grew into a blue-chip draft prospect. Based on what we saw, it sounds like they plan to use it.

The snap-count question and base defense implications

Downs’ movement around the defense also addresses a concern of mine. When you trade up to No. 11 overall to draft a player, he needs to be on the field for 90% of defensive snaps or something close to it. If Downs were locked in at nickel and the opposing offense went to a two-receiver set, forcing Dallas into its base defense, I didn’t want Downs to be the player leaving the field.

The fact that they’re using him everywhere suggests he stays on the field in base packages too, whether that means pairing him with Jalen Thompson at safety or sliding him into another role alongside Malik Hooker. That flexibility is exactly what you draft a player like Downs for.

It also raises a follow-up question: when Downs moves out of the nickel, who slides in? Is it Cobie Durant? Caelen Carson? Reddy Steward? That competition will be worth monitoring throughout camp.

Cowboys’ starting secondary takes shape

Hoyt also reported the Cowboys’ starting secondary for the first defensive play of camp. The outside cornerbacks were Cobie Durant and DaRon Bland, with Caleb Downs at nickel and Malik Hooker and Jalen Thompson at safety. No real surprises there, but it confirms Durant and Bland are the odds-on favorites to start outside when the season begins.

The question mark remains whether Shavon Revel Jr. can do enough in camp to change the equation, specifically whether he can show he can play zone coverage or excel as a man-cover corner. For now, the outside spots appear to be Durant and Bland’s jobs to lose, though I think it’s closer to an open competition than most realize.