I suspect this Friday piece will be more of the fun variety, because, you know, its 106 degrees today and sometimes we just want to enjoy ourselves a bit. It is August 21st. Let’s not take life so seriously.
Instead, let’s consider a player who appears to be destined to bring us joy for several years to come. I was recently asked by one of our readers what I thought his ceiling could be:
“Bob,
If Caleb Downs is who the Cowboys think he is, then can his career be one of those rare 20-20 guys who are in Canton?
Thanks, Doug”
Ok, I wanted to write a Caleb Downs piece this training camp and with just a few weeks to go until opening night, let’s use this as our guide today. Could Caleb Downs be a 20-20 guy?
What Doug is referencing is the absurd threshold of having 20 career interceptions and 20 career sacks for the same guy. This is the true joker piece for a defense and over the years, we know that if you are on this list, you have done some incredible things both as a pass rusher and as a defensive back.
Usually, we have to choose. Can you do one or the other? But, if you can do both, your defensive coordinator can pretty much dial up all sorts of fun things and give your team fits.
So, here is modern 20/20 list for the safety position – although I think it is probably not the greatest idea to judge all-time safeties by what is happening in 2026 or vice versa. This is an evolution and Caleb Downs might be a great example of the latest phase of said evolution.
That is a nice list, eh?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame members from this list are:
Charles Woodson (Class of 2021)
Larry Wilson (Class of 1978) -
Rondé Barber (Class of 2023) - Mostly a cornerback
LeRoy Butler (Class of 2022)
Brian Dawkins (Class of 2018)
So, there they are with Harrison Smith, Rodney Harrison, Adrian Wilson, and Lawyer Milloy who are all 20/20 guys but have not been inducted (yet).
If you are wondering – and I know you are – Darren Woodson has 20 interceptions but only 11 sacks. Troy Polamalu only has 12 sacks. Ed Reed only has 6 sacks and is probably my vote for best safety I have ever seen (although Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson were incredible). Ronnie Lott has 8.5 career sacks, too.
So, you can see that you can be an all-time great and not be in the 20/20 club. But, the 20/20 club were mostly guys who played as regular blitz guys who would try to make things happen on the other side of the line of scrimmage and still be a coverage monster with sometimes more than 50 or even 60 interceptions in a career.
Am I suggesting Caleb Downs can be on that list?
I would not rule it out, even if it is a stretch.
And, I believe by the end of today’s piece, you might be willing to join me.
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