The Vikings may already be hearing the first grumbling about a draft pick they only just made.
According to Essentially Sports’ Tony Pauline, some people in Minnesota’s new front office are wondering whether the team reached for first-round defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the No. 18 overall pick. Pauline says the concern, coming from his scouting sources, is that the previous regime may have chosen Banks over players who were better positioned to help right away.
So far, the early returns have not quieted those questions. Pauline reported that Banks has had trouble making a steady impact and that his conditioning has been a point of emphasis. At the same time, third-round defensive tackle Domonique Orange has apparently turned heads quickly and, per Pauline, is in line to play more than Banks this season.
That doesn’t mean Minnesota is giving up on Banks. Pauline made clear the Vikings are not ready to pull the plug this early. But it does underline how unusual this offseason has been in Minneapolis.
The team moved on from former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah after last season and chose to hold off on hiring a replacement until after the draft. EVP of football operations Rob Brzezinski handled the interim GM duties and was a finalist for the permanent job before the Vikings brought in former Seahawks assistant GM Nolan Teasley.
Brzezinski remained in his previous role, while Teasley reshaped parts of the front office. Andrew Healy arrived from the Browns, Trent Kirchner came over from the Seahawks and former Bears GM Ryan Pace joined the group, while former Vikings assistant GM Demitrius Washington and senior executive Jamaal Stephenson were let go.
That left Minnesota in the awkward position of having a new decision-making group in place only months after making a first-round pick it did not select.
Banks was one of the draft’s more surprising first-round names. He had generally been viewed as a second-round talent because of concerns about his injury history and consistency, even though evaluators saw him as a rare athlete.
Pauline also noted that Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has major influence in personnel matters and that Banks is one of his players.
Banks is 23. He was a three-star recruit and the 99th-ranked defensive lineman in the 2021 recruiting class out of Southfield, Michigan. He started his college career at Louisville, spent two seasons there and then transferred to Florida.
Minnesota took him with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Banks signed a four-year, $21,570,956 rookie deal that includes a $12,147,968 signing bonus and a fifth-year option for the 2030 season.
Across 34 college games over five years at Louisville and Florida, Banks finished with 48 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one pass defended.
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