Kelvin Banks Jr. may not be the first name Saints fans blurt out when asked who matters most on the roster. Tyler Shough would get plenty of votes at quarterback, and Chris Olave would be a popular answer too. But in ESPN’s Bill Barnwell’s view, the player with the biggest trade value in New Orleans is Banks.
Barnwell evaluated every roster in the league to determine which players could bring back a first-round pick, and in some cases even more. For the Saints, Banks is the only player he believes could fetch more than a first-rounder on the market.
Bryan Bresee, Olave and Jordyn Tyson were each slotted into the first-round-pick tier. Banks landed a step above them, and the reasons are easy to see: he’s younger than Bresee and Olave, and unlike Tyson, he already has NFL snaps on his résumé.
That rookie season gave the Saints a real glimpse of what they might have. Banks showed he could learn fast and play at a high level, and the biggest spike came in the back half of the year. Barnwell pointed to Banks “cutting his quick pressure allowed rate from 5.8% over the first half to 0.4% from Week 10 onward” as a major development.
That kind of leap matters even more heading into year two. The Saints are set to see plenty of strong pass rushers this season, and Banks will be tested against some of the league’s best. Not every matchup will come on his side, since some rushers work mainly over the right tackle, but the snaps he does get will demand a steady response.
The Saints do not need Banks to post a 0.4% quick pressure rate all season for him to be valuable. But if he finishes the year looking as sharp as he did late in his rookie campaign, his stock will only keep rising. That would also give Tyler Shough more room to operate behind an offense with a growing group of skill players.
And if Kellen Moore’s approach stays anywhere close to what it was a year ago, Banks is going to keep earning every bit of that praise. Moore often left his offensive tackles on an island without much help, which makes Banks’ improvement even more striking.
New Orleans finally hit on an offensive tackle in the draft, and that matters after years of searching for a left tackle. With Taliese Fuaga alongside him, Banks gives the Saints a promising tackle duo. If his late-season surge carries over, he may not stay in the “first-round pick and more” conversation for long - he could move into the “two first round picks” tier before too long.
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Saints Offseason Hope Just Ran Into A Brutal 2026 Reality Check
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The concern starts with the rest of the blocking unit, where Cesar Ruiz still has to prove he can hold up his end and Taliese Fuagas injury history hangs over the group. Even after the additions, the Saints are still being viewed through the lens of whether the line can actually support a meaningful step forward, and thats the kind of uncertainty that can shape an entire season before it even begins. [Read more 🡒]