Vikings use first-round pick on Florida DT Caleb Banks, who broke his foot before the combine
The Minnesota Vikings selected Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th pick in the first round of the NFL draft, adding some interior bulk and athleticism with a raw prospect whose recent injury likely pushed him down the board
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings selected Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night, adding some interior bulk and athleticism with a raw prospect whose recent injury likely pushed him down the board.
The 6-foot-6, 327-pound Banks cracked the fourth metatarsal bone in his left foot in February while practicing for the 40-yard dash the night before the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. He had surgery on it last month, his second procedure in six months. Injuries to his left foot caused him to miss games in both 2023 and 2025 for the Gators.
“We have the best doctors in the country, if not the world, and we have complete confidence in them,” Vikings interim general manager Rob Brzezinski said. “There’s nothing without risk in any player you select, but we feel really good about where Caleb will be when it’s time to go to training camp. So we’re comfortable with the injury.”
The Vikings signed veteran defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency last year but cut them both for salary cap savings last month. Neither Allen nor Hargrave generated much of a pass rush in defensive coordinator Brian Flores' system. If Banks is healthy, he could form a sturdy tandem for the future with budding standout Jalen Redmond.
“It’s really been some time since we really invested an early pick in the interior of the defensive line,” coach Kevin O'Connell said. “We would’ve loved to have had a full inventory of tape from the 2025 season, but the 2024 tape looked really good.”
After finishing 9-8 amid persistent quarterback problems with both health and performance, the Vikings missed the playoffs and fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Recommended for you
Longtime salary cap executive Brzezinski has taken over the role on an interim basis, in charge of fostering consensus between the coaching staff and the scouting department in the preparation for and direction of the draft. Brzezinski spoke several times this spring of the importance of not prioritizing a pick for present need over long-term value, making clear the Vikings in this transition would be content to let the talent fall to them and focus on restocking their depth with four top-100 picks.
The Vikings will take three picks into the second night of the draft on Friday, 49th overall in the second round and 82nd and 97th overall in the third round.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.