Caleb Banks didn’t exactly burst out of the gate in his first taste of NFL action, and the early returns have Vikings fans wondering how much stock to put in the rookie’s rough start.
The preseason was shaky enough on its own. Then came Week 1 against the Packers, where Banks logged just 16 snaps and left without a stat. He was pushed around in the run game, didn’t create pressure on passing downs, and the pad-level problems tied to his 6-foot-6 frame were again impossible to miss.
Pro Football Focus handed him a brutal 33.7 grade on Sunday, and the performance was so quiet that, as the source notes, he might have been inactive if not for his draft position.
That said, Minnesota has never treated Banks like a finished product. The Vikings knew they were taking on a long-term project when they selected him 18th overall, and his start has to be viewed through that lens.
He finished the preseason with four tackles and no sacks, then followed it with the blank stat line against Green Bay. The concerns are real, but so is the patience built into the pick.
Part of the explanation is simple: Banks hasn’t had much football under his belt lately. He dealt with two separate injuries over the past year, one that kept him out for most of his final college season and another that sidelined him for all of minicamps and organized team activities. After the Packers game, Banks said those injuries were no excuse, but the lost time has clearly shown up in the speed of his adjustment.
Some fans have already reached for the Dallas Turner comparison, pointing out that Turner needed time before becoming a star in Year 3. That’s a fair reference point in broad strokes, but the situations aren’t the same.
Turner was far more productive in college with 22.5 sacks at Alabama, and he entered the league as a much younger player. Turner is only one month older than Banks even though he’s already in his third NFL season.
Banks remains his own case. He was known as a project.
He was already 23 when he entered the league. And while he hasn’t shown much growth over the last few months, it’s still far too early to write him off.
For now, Banks is likely to remain behind Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez for much of 2026. The rookie season may not resemble what some fans imagined when he went 18th overall, but the physical traits that made him such an intriguing pick are still there: elite size, a record-setting wingspan, burst and quickness.
And if there’s a staff built to squeeze something out of those tools, it’s Brian Flores’ defense.
The floor looks ugly right now. The ceiling is still intact.
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Vikings Suddenly Have Two Huge Availability Questions Before Bears Game
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