The NFL Combine is always a pivotal moment for draft season every year, as it has the potential to change everything for prospects. This time around, it almost changed things for arguably the best player in the draft — a prospect that the New York Giants have their eyes on — Caleb Downs. Following the Combine, draft analyst Cory Kinnan shared that Downs was flagged for a partially torn meniscus and a potentially degenerative ACL.
This led to immense concern from the NFL world, because the safety had pretty much been considered a flawless prospect before this report. There was now concern about if Downs will slide in the draft. However, on Tuesday, those concerns were put to rest.
Pat McAfee, on a Tuesday episode of The Pat McAfee Show, shared that he reached out to several NFL teams and they all made it clear that there is nothing in Downs’ medical that has teams concerned, and specified that there also isn’t significant concern with his knee.
We reached out to multiple NFL teams about Caleb Downs this morning..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 3, 2026
They told us that there is NOTHING in the medical that would deter them from brining him in #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/4TSopny8aU
Former safety-turned-analyst Ryan Clark also shared that a source close to Downs revealed that multiple team doctors had no concern over his medical evaluations.
Recent reports reveal that teams aren’t worried about Caleb Downs’ health
In Kinnan’s original piece, he did specify that the information wasn’t to signify a significant drop for Downs. The writer also made it clear that plenty of players have went on to have productive careers after being flagged in the pre-draft process for those kind of medical concerns.
Ultimately, this serves as a reminder to fans to be wary of everything they hear right now — from every side. This portion of the NFL calendar is often referred to as lying season, as everyone is working to get information out, regardless of accuracy, to shape certain narratives. This could have been a team’s way of trying to get Downs to fall to them in the draft.
Come draft night, Caleb Downs will still likely be a top-10 pick, and the Giants could still be the team drafting him. New York possesses the fifth-overall pick, and it’s no secret that the team is a fan of him. Since the health concern seems to be overblown, Downs could very much be at the center of the Giants’ draft plans.