When I first discovered that the Minnesota Vikings picked Caleb Banks with the 18th pick, I was completely surprised. My first thought was what a poor value it was for the Vikings at that point in the draft- Banks was expected to go in the second round and there really wasn’t any buzz about him going sooner or linking him to a team picking in the back of the first round. My second thought was that they must not have been able to trade down. In many ways this was a worst-case scenario I could see for the Vikings at #18, with Kenyon Sadiq and Dillion Thieneman off the board and not being able to trade down, the Vikings might be forced to take a defensive tackle- I thought Kayden McDonald- at #18 which wouldn’t have been a great value but still a solid player. But Thieneman was still on the board too.
I really hadn’t spent much time looking into Banks before the draft- I knew he had the foot injury and that was likely taking him out of the first round- but there wasn’t much of a connection with the Vikings. He seemed like more of an option for their second-round pick, which I thought could be used on a defensive tackle, but there were several other defensive prospects that seemed more likely.
Anyway, my third thought was to do a little research into Banks which was quickly followed by my fourth thought that this is a Brian Flores pick. It was also interesting that the Vikings had Banks higher on their draft board than Thieneman- although it appears that other teams didn’t rate Thieneman quite as high as he fell to #25- and higher than the consensus highest rated defensive tackles Kayden McDonald and Peter Woods. Woods was drafted at #29 and McDonald fell out of the first round. Apparently the Vikings didn’t hesitate either- Peter Schrager reported that the Vikings were the quickest to get their card in. No working the phones while on the clock, etc.
But getting back to this being a Brian Flores pick. Banks is the best pass rushing defensive tackle in the draft- when healthy- at least when it comes to his ability to get in the backfield and disrupt the play. But he’s not a good tackler once he gets in position for a TFL or a sack. If the Vikings can help him correct that issue, improve his conditioning, and if he can stay healthy, he’s got All-Pro upside with his physical traits and ability to deconstruct blocks quickly. His ability to rag-doll 300-pound linemen is truly impressive, as is his first-step quickness. He’s 6’6”, 330 pounds, with 35” arms and a huge wingspan- elite size on all counts. And he also has elite athleticism for a defensive tackle his size. He also was one of the top 3 most productive defensive tackles as a pass rusher in the 2026 draft class in his last full season of 2024.
Flores looks for guys that at least have the minimum physical requirements for success in the late rounds and top physical and athletic profiles for early round picks, but most importantly what he calls the “want to” or the determination and commitment to put in the work to improve, which all college players must do to be successful in the NFL, no matter how gifted they are. And Banks fits that profile.
He was asked about his foot fracture during the season last year and coming back to play rather than just shutting it down to preserve his draft stock. His response:
“If I’m being honest, man, I’m not the type of guy to shut anything down. I wanted to be out there with my brothers, and I wanted to play the game of football. I love the game. I love everything that comes with it, from the work to the long nights to the early mornings, the hard work in the weight room. I love it all. So nothing in my mind was telling me, like, ‘shut it down.’ You know what I mean?
That is the type of thing Flores is looking for, in both word and deed, along with a fierce competitiveness. In Banks’ case, that desire to be out there competing on the field was probably a key contributor to his on-going foot issues by playing on it after it was broken and trying to come back too soon.
Flores has had success developing guys like Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake-Rodriquez, two guys willing to put in the work to improve despite having less than prototypical builds for the position. Now Flores will have a player with prototypical build and traits to develop.
Where Banks Needs to Develop
Caleb Banks has a great first step, is good at block recognition, and already has developed a few pass rush moves and counters which he gets through quickly. Those are usually the more difficult things to develop, and having a quick first step can’t really be developed- either you have it or you don’t. And Banks has all the other things you can’t coach- size, length, heavy hands, and instincts.
But where he is lacking is his ability to tackle. He misses about a third of the tackles he could make because he often breaks through off-balanced or isn’t able to adjust to the movement of the quarterback or running back to make the tackle and finish the play. Developing his ability to finish will be an important part of improving his game.
The other thing is Banks’ inconsistency. He great plays are very impressive, but he can also disappear for stretches during a game. That may be a function of conditioning as much as anything else. Jalen Carter had that issue and generally bigger defensive tackles have that issue. But conditioning is a straight-forward fix and I’m sure that will be part of his on-going program from now on.
Scheme Fit
Despite his nose-tackle size, Banks is seen as more of a three technique or 3-4 defensive end who lines up on the outside shoulder of the guard or inside shoulder of the tackle (4i). But he has the versatility to play at any position along the defensive interior line.
Banks also has the athleticism to run the twists and games that Brian Flores employs with linebackers as part of his pass rush scheme.
Banks can be a four-down player but particularly at his size will certainly be part of a rotation. His tackling issues hurt his run defense grades with a higher missed tackle rate, but his average depth of tackle at 0.4 yards in 2024 was one of the lowest among defensive tackles in his draft class. He is the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in this draft class, and has the highest ceiling in that regard too.
The Decision to Draft Banks
From the outside looking in, for an interim general manager looking to make a good impression, drafting safety Dillon Thieneman made a lot of sense. He was available, fit a need, looked like a decent value, not much to criticize had that been the decision.
But Rob Brzezinski didn’t hesitate in drafting Banks. Apparently they had him as the best available on their board, weren’t all that concerned with his foot fractures after having them evaluated by their doctors, and were quick to turn in their card. Whatever trade discussions they had ahead of their pick didn’t amount to much and Brzezinski seemed unconcerned with the perception that drafting Banks at #18 wasn’t a good value.
The pick got a lot of instant C-grades as a reach among draft pundits, and was also described as a risky homerun, boom-or-bust swing by Brzezinski, which seems a little surprising from the mild-mannered interim GM. But for him it was a culmination of a process he has faith in and he said the decision itself to draft Banks was an easy one.
But from the outside it was a surprising pick initially, at least from an outside perceived value standpoint. Whether that proves to be genius or blunder we’ll find out in the coming years. We can all get caught up in whether a pick was a good value or not (myself included) but what really matters is whether the guy can play. Banks should take significant snaps in the defensive tackle rotation this season, assuming no on-going foot issues, so we’ll get to see how he fares initially in five months.
I’ll do a more detailed breakdown of Banks and the rest of the Vikings draft picks after the draft.
Stay tuned.
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