The Minnesota Vikings made a somewhat controversial pick in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft, picking defensive tackle Caleb Banks at No. 18. The selection turned heads because Banks’s recent injury history had shoved his draft stock into Round 2 on most draft big boards, and few expected a team to pick him in Round 1. But the Vikings die precisely that — and the naysayers are already panning the choice.
National voices wasted no time picking apart the selection and questioning Minnesota’s approach.
The powers that be of NFL media lined up to trash the pick, not even 12 hours removed.
Kiper Jr. didn’t mince words, claiming he flat-out didn’t understand the Vikings’ thinking.
He wrote late Thursday night, “Big-time reach for me. Banks was No. 62 on my board, the biggest stretch of the night. Sure, there’s reason to believe this could work out for the Vikings. Banks can stop running backs in their tracks, and he gets enough interior push to be a factor in the pass rush.”
“He moves well for a 6-foot-6, 327-pounder. But he has been dealing with a foot injury for a while now, and he just had surgery on it after the Combine. A lot of risk here, even if Banks healthy and at his best can shore up the interior. This was made worse by the fact that safety Dillon Thieneman was still on the board.”
Banks lived at No. 44 on the Consensus Big Board, meaning Minnesota could have, in theory, traded down near that spot to get Banks and stockpiled a 2nd-Round pick, according to trade chart value. Instead, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski drafted Banks at No. 18.
Kiper Jr. continued, “Everyone thought that pairing made sense. Harrison Smith is still uncertain to return for 2026, and even if he comes back, he’s 37 years old. Thieneman would have been perfect in Brian Flores’ defense. Not sure I understand this one.”
Thieneman ended up in Chicago and will play against the Vikings at least twice annually.
Kiper Jr. wasn’t alone with disdain. CBS Sports‘ Mike Renner assigned a ‘D’ mark to the draft pick and noted, “Banks is the most prodigious physical talent in this defensive tackle class. At 6-foot-6, 327 pounds with an over 7-foot wingspan, when he fires off low into contact, he’s nearly impossible to block.”
“The worry is that we never saw it consistently before his 2025 season was cut short with a foot injury that required surgery. He then had another foot surgery after an injury suffered during the combine week. That’s a big swing for the Vikings to take at 18.”
The grade represented the single-lowest grade handed out by Renner all evening. In short, he claims the Vikings’ draft pick was horrid.
Ready for more? USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz followed suit, grading Minnesota’s selection of Banks as a ‘C.’
“It’s easy to see the appeal of Banks, a 6-6, 327-pound interior force with unparalleled explosion off the ball. Yet Banks has been waylaid by multiple foot injuries in the last year, and staying healthy could be a considerable concern,” he opined.
“Banks also struggles to finish plays as a tackler once he gets in range of a ball carrier. There’s massive upside here for him to thrive in Brian Flores’ scheme, but this could also go awry if Banks can’t become a consistent performer.”
Middlehurst-Schwartz rendered four C-or-lower grade, and the Vikings grabbed one.
When the draft cycle began in December and January, Banks was envisioned by the draft community as a 1st-Round pick. He has a boom-or-bust trajectory in the pros. Banks even cooked at the Senior Bowl, and right after that event, mock drafts placed him in the back half of Round 1. Life was good.
Fast forward to the NFL Combine, and Banks broke a bone in his foot, sending his draft profile to Round 2, and he never left that spot. In fact, his stock fell each week, as no one knew whether the guy who played through injuries in 2025 would be trustworthy after a broken foot at the Combine.
Banks then became a possible Vikings’ draft target in Round 2, not Round 1. For example, Minnesota will pick 49th on Friday night. One week ago, Banks graced Vikings mock drafts at that spot. Minnesota picked him in Round 1 instead.
So, Banks has a familiar mission ahead of him: play well, stay healthy, and no one will care in two years where he was drafted.