Initial Thoughts on the Caleb Banks Pick
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 29: Caleb Banks #88 of the Florida Gators celebrates after recovering a fumble against the Florida State Seminoles during the second quarter of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images 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.
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