Prior to the first round of the NFL Draft, we had stated that Florida’s Caleb Banks was bound to be one of the more fascinating prospects in the draft. At one point, he was seen as a surefire first-round pick. But he started to fall out of favor with mock drafts after it was revealed he had yet another injury pop up during the NFL Combine.
In the end, Banks went 18th overall to the Minnesota Vikings. Whether or not people around the NFL think it was a good pick is up for debate.
No one agrees whether or not Caleb Banks was a good pick
By the time the draft rolled around, almost no mock drafts had Banks going as high as 18th. At best, most had him around the range when the Kansas City Chiefs picked at 29th. And so, depending upon whether one views him as a steal or a reach seems to dictate what various sites had to say.
Minnesota earned everything from a A- to a D from various publications for the pick:
- The Athletic: C+
- CBS Sports: D
- Yahoo Sports: A-
- USA Today: C
- Fansided: C-
- NFL.com: B+
Essentially, the sites that hated the move are most concerned about his health. Even CBS Sports acknowledges that Banks has a chance to be a takeover player but they aren’t sold he can actually stay on the field:
“Banks is the most prodigious physical talent in this defensive tackle class. At 6-foot-6, 327 pounds with an over 7-foot wingspan, when he fires off low into contact, he's nearly impossible to block. The worry is that we never saw it consistently before his 2025 season was cut short with a foot injury that required surgery. He then had another foot surgery after an injury suffered during the combine week. That's a big swing for the Vikings to take at 18.”
The funny part is that Yahoo Sports gave him an A- while essentially saying the same thing:
“This might be the highest grade on Banks you’ll see, but this guy can really do all the hard stuff in terms of defeating blocks and understanding leverage within a true top-1% athletic frame. The injury and lack of finishing makes him a risky pick, but he does so many other things at a high level.”
So when someone says they love or hate the pick, it basically comes down to their tolerance for risk in the first round.
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