Caleb Downs family tree: Meet brother, dad and uncle with NFL ties, mom, sister and more from Georgia roots originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Caleb Downs enters the NFL as one of the best safety prospects in recent years, and he credits much of his success to his family.
The former Ohio State star was on the NFL's radar for his entire college career, as his play for both the Buckeyes and for Alabama was impressive. In fact, Downs comes from a family of athletes, especially football players, which helped give him a leg up.
"(My family is) probably the biggest contributor to that," Downs said, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "My dad was a coach, played, my brother played, my uncle played, my other uncle was a coach. Just being around the game has allowed me to grow a lot with my knowledge of football and how I see the game."
As Downs aims to become the next great NFL safety, get to know his entire family.
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Yes, Caleb Downs and Josh Downs are brothers, becoming the latest set of siblings to play in the NFL at the same time.
Josh Downs is Caleb's older brother and an NFL receiver who plays for the Indianapolis Colts. As the older of the two, Josh has set an example for Caleb as they both pursued careers in football.
"He worked and worked and worked," their dad, Gary, said of Josh, via Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch. "And Caleb saw Josh."
However, while Josh was able to make the NFL before Caleb, and despite the Downs family being full of football players, Josh believes Caleb is above the rest.
"[Caleb] was the best football player in our family for sure," Josh said, via Michael Cohen of Fox Sports. "He still is."
Caleb and Josh Downs co-host the "Downs 2 Business" podcast together, where they discuss everything from football to family. One item they discussed was whether they wanted to play with or against each other in the NFL, and both of them agreed they would love to be teammates.
"I would love to play with Josh," Caleb said. "I've never played with Josh in anything, so that would be a new situation for me,"
“When you have your brother there it’s different!” 💯Would you rather play with or against your brother? 🤔Josh & Caleb discuss what it would be like to play on the same team in the latest episode 🔥 #LinkInBiopic.twitter.com/iZDQev5GcT
— Downs 2 Business (@downs2business) October 1, 2025
Dre Bly is Caleb Downs' uncle, giving the young defensive back a strong NFL role model in his own family.
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Dre Bly was an NFL cornerback for over a decade known for his ball-hawking abilities. Bly played for the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers, totaling 43 career interceptions and five career pick-sixes.
Bly also returned kicks at times during his career, but he mainly focused on his duties as a defensive back.
Bly got into coaching after he retired, as he spent four seasons as the defensive backs coach for his alma mater, North Carolina. Recently, Bly was the cornerbacks coach for the Lions, but joined Aaron Glenn with the New York Jets as an assistant since 2025.