Caleb Downs is a natural fit for the New Orleans Saints as an Alontae Taylor replacement. Forget the conversations of can you draft Downs that high as well. If he's there, "positional value" is a non factor.
Since the beginning of the draft process, Downs has been a fan favorite. After the Saints picked up Travis Etienne, fans shifted and isolated their attention from Jeremiyah Love to Downs. It was often a debate between which of the two prospects was a better fit. The Etienne signing naturally put an end to the conversation.
Downs has shown a knack for getting in the run game. He had 7.5 tackles for loss in his sophomore season and followed it up with 5 TFL last year. Downs is sound in coverage and registered two interceptions in each of his collegiate seasons.
Caleb Downs does play a premier position for the Saints
One of the bigger talking points about Caleb Downs is how his talent level breaks through the proverbial ceiling placed on safeties. That’s enough of a reason to draft him early, but it’s also subjective to each team. For the Saints, that’s not a stigma Downs needs to break because he does play a premier position in Staley's defense.
Prior to last season, Staley gave insight to his defensive philosophy saying, "we see that position (star) as a feature position in the defense." That's exactly where Downs would play in the defense.
Is Downs a strong enough prospect to be a top 10 pick as a traditional safety? Certainly. The versatility in his skillset makes him an impact player at multiple levels. As a true freshman, he started in Nick Saban's defense. Downs' mental aspect is another one of his many strengths. Even with all that, he's still a safety. Though the position has proven to be valuable on the field, that value hasn't translated to draft investment.
It's hard to guess how the Saints value safety, but we know exactly how Staley views STAR. He called it a feature position rather than premier position, but they are synonymous. While you may need to be convinced to spend a top 10 pick on a safety, no persuasion is necessary for any "feature position."
This puts the STAR role, and Downs specifically, right there with edge rusher and cornerback. If we're looking at Downs through a positional value lens, then identifying his true position sets the precedent of how to view the prospect.