Minnesota’s first-round bet on Caleb Banks already looks a lot less nerve-racking than it did on draft night.
When the Vikings took the Florida defensive lineman with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, plenty of fans and observers focused on the same thing: the foot injury that had followed him into the process. Minnesota checked it out and didn’t see it as a problem, but that kind of red flag can still set off alarms, especially for a team that has lived through the pain of a major lower-leg issue before.
That history is hard to ignore. Vikings fans will remember the No. 23 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, when the team selected Floyd, a top prospect whose career was derailed by nerve damage to his knee after surgery.
Banks’ situation is different. He is already practicing and working with the first-team defense, which is a big early sign for a player listed at six-foot-six and 327 pounds. Any injury attached to a lineman that size is enough to make people hold their breath, but Minnesota seems to have gotten the kind of early confirmation it wanted.
At training camp, Banks has been given a clean bill of health, and The Athletic’s Alec Lewis shared a video on X showing Banks being “very active" in team drills.
That kind of update matters because the on-field tape at Florida was already strong. Pair that with the camp footage, and the concern around his foot starts to fade fast.
Minnesota’s confidence in Banks goes beyond the pick itself. The team also cleared out expensive veterans on the defensive line, a move that suggests it believes Banks can step in and make an impact in Brian Flores’ scheme.
There’s still a long way to go before the 2026 season kicks off, but Banks has opened in encouraging fashion. For a Vikings team that clearly sees real upside here, the early signs are exactly what they wanted to see.
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