By Graham Fritz

Writer/Reporter

The 2026 NFL draft has come and gone, and the Minnesota Vikings shocked the NFL world. Just about every mock draft out there had us taking either a safety or cornerback in the 1^st round of this year’s draft. The Vikings went against the grain, ignoring draft experts and ultimately decided on using their 18^th overall draft selection on 6’6, 330-pound defensive tackle, Caleb Banks.

I followed the draft coverage closely for months leading up to the draft, and Caleb’s name had almost zero connection to the Vikings. I am not exaggerating when I say just about every draft expert in the country had us taking a defensive secondary player. On paper, it was a rather obvious blemish on an otherwise top tier Brian Flores defense. That part of the defense needed retooling, especially with 37-year-old Harrison Smith’s future up in the air as he ponders retirement. Flores’s defense puts a lot of pressure and responsibility on the secondary. When you blitz, disguise coverages and play as much man coverage as the Vikings do, you need some ballers on the secondary who can shut down their receiver or who at least can do their job without being a total liability.

So why did they decide on taking a defensive tackle instead? The answer to me seems clear; they saw Caleb Banks’s upside as too much to pass up on and they want to commit to building their defensive line in the trenches. When you look around the league, the best teams win the line of scrimmage. When you analyze previous Super Bowl winning teams, the through line is they can effectively block the rush and create pressure up front on defense. That is the formula for championship winning football. It isn’t sexy and it isn’t glamourous by any stretch, but when you are able to stuff the run, rush the passer, and drop back into coverage when necessary, you have a real shot at winning a championship. The Vikings clearly saw Banks as a must-have to take him that high.

Caleb Banks has elite size and a huge upside; it’s undeniable. He’s 6’6 and has a wingspan of 7 feet 1.75 inches, which was the longest wingspan at this year’s NFL combine. If you watch his highlights, it consists of him rag dolling offensive lineman, shoot gaps, getting to the ball carrier, and causing disruption to opposing offenses up the middle. The knock on him however is the lack of production and his injury history. He tallied 48 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries in his 4-year collegiate career across 33 games played. He fractured his foot in 2025 and then re-broke the same foot in the 2026 NFL combine. These are valid concerns and it’s why some analysts are against the pick, predicting before the draft that Banks would go in the 2^nd round. It is hard to not see the injuries as red flags, especially with that big of a frame, foot injuries are a real cause for concern.

Nonetheless, it goes without saying that taking him 18^th overall was a risk, but clearly that pick does not happen unless Brian Flores envisioned Banks as a cornerstone of the Minnesota Vikings defense line. This will either be a genius draft steal or a total flop and waste of a top 20 draft pick, but only time will tell.