Caleb Banks NFL Draft 2026 Scouting Report for Minnesota Vikings DT

Matt HolderDec 2, 2025

The Minnesota Vikings selected Florida DT Caleb Banks with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

Caleb Banks makes a person second-guess what they're seeing on film because of how quick and athletic he is for his size. The 6'6", 330-pound defensive lineman has plenty of tools to develop into a well-rounded interior defender in the NFL.

Due to a foot injury, Banks played in three games during the 2025 season. As a result, his pre-draft evaluation shifts to the previous year's tape, which shows raw technique that will require fine-tuning at the next level.

Coming out of high school as part of the 2021 class, the 3-star recruit originally played at Louisville. He redshirted as a true freshman and barely saw the field in Year 2 before transferring to Florida ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Banks became a starter during his first year in Gainesville, collecting 19 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in 12 games. The following season served as his breakout campaign, racking up 21 tackles, seven TFLs, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in 12 contests.

Matt Holder has been a part of B/R's Scouting Department for four seasons. He also writes about the Las Vegas Raiders and NFL draft for SB Nation's Silver and Black Pride, and co-hosts a YouTube Channel, Tape Don't Lie, providing film breakdowns and more draft prospect analysis.

Highlights

1 of 5

Scroll down for the full scouting report.

Where He Wins

2 of 5

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 21 Florida at Mississippi State

Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

- Banks has a good combination of size, strength, athleticism and quickness for an NFL defensive tackle.

- Accelerates off the line of scrimmage well for a good get-off.

- Combines quickness and a good arm-over move to beat offensive linemen across their faces as a pass-rusher and run defender.

- Also displays a hump-move that he can catch offensive linemen leaning and flashes a solid inside spin move that he can develop when rushing the passer at the next level.

- Good change-of-direction skills to pivot and take advantage of oversets from offensive linemen.

- When Banks shoots his hands against the run, he presents solid knockback power to occasionally reset the line of scrimmage.

Areas of Improvement

3 of 5

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 23 Charlotte at Florida

Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

- Banks stands up out of his stance and plays with high pad-level, causing him to get pushed out of his gap by double-teams and combo blocks.

- Also, he'll get kicked inside by down-blocks, because he struggles to sink his hips and anchor.

- Has a habit of taking on blocks with his forearms instead of his hands, preventing him from capitalizing on his strength and length at the point of attack.

- Hips are a little tight to clear his lower half when working finesse moves.

- Needs to learn how to work the hands as a pass-rusher.

- Gets knocked off his path too easily for someone of his size when rushing the passer.

- Foot injury could be a lingering issue. He missed spring practices and the first two games of the 2025 season because of it, then re-injured it during his first game back and had to have surgery. Also, broke his foot at the NFL Combine.