The Minnesota Vikings took a big swing selecting defensive tackle Caleb Banks out of Florida in the middle of the first round of the 2026 NFL draft, and so far he’s been a complete miss.
An important piece of information to note is that current general manager Nolan Teasley, in his first year with the Vikings and first season in that particular job anywhere in the NFL, was not part of the organization during draft weekend. In fact, the team didn’t hire him until a full month later.
Why Minnesota made that choice is puzzling, given that the franchise had already fired former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and knew that a new GM incoming was imminent. But, for whatever, reason, the Vikings had not landed on Teasley yet. And so it was interim GM Rob Brzezinski who signed off on taking Banks No. 18 overall despite a foot injury that cost the DT all but three games across his final season at Florida.
There was little debate among longtime draft analysts about the upside that Banks’ represented as the best potential interior pass-rusher in the entire 2026 class. But given his size combined with his specific injury history, the general consensus was that Minnesota reached for Banks by taking him when it did.
That has proven accurate through the first half of his first season, which started off slow because Banks’ injury kept him behind throughout the offseason, training camp work and preseason contests.
He struggled with his conditioning and his technique leading up to Week 1 and the Vikings most recently made him a healthy scratch for their primetime “Monday Night Football” showcase against the Buffalo Bills.
Vikings Missed on JJ McCarthy in First Round 2 Years Ago, and Questions Around Caleb Banks Are Now Mounting
Banks’ benching on what is arguably the best defense in the NFL hasn’t rated much as a story this week given everything else happening in Minnesota — namely the return of quarterback Kirk Cousins following the trade of a 2027 third-round draft pick with the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.
But what is happening with Banks absolutely matters, in no small part because of what it means for the future of the franchise if Minnesota whiffed on its 2026 first-round pick just months before dealing away JJ McCarthy, the No. 10 overall selection in 2024, for a fifth-rounder in what was a pretty historic punt on a young, potentially franchise, quarterback.
McCarthy is 2-1 as the starter for the New York Giants and playing reasonably well, which means early indicators are that Teasley pulled the trigger too quickly on trading the 23-year-old QB and did it for far less compensation than was appropriate. That argument is backed in all facets by the team’s urgency to flip a Day 2 selection for Cousins who is 38, playing on a one-year deal and who they could have signed in free agency at a much lower total price (trade and contract) a few months ago.
Teasley didn’t make the McCarthy pick, but he did make the trade, and that doesn’t look great early as his first blockbuster transaction. And Teasley didn’t make the Banks selection either, but bailing on him already, if that is what’s happening, looks like the official beginning of a trend of giving up on of high-talent, early-round draft picks more quickly than is fair or warranted.
Vikings ‘Don’t Like’ Caleb Banks, per NFL Reporter
Teasley isn’t trading Banks anytime soon. And it was a coaching decision, likely from defensive coordinator Brian Flores, to make Banks a healthy scratch Monday night. So there is still time for the DT to get back into the good graces of the staff as well as the regular rotation.
But a new report from Tony Pauline indicates that the Vikings were already dubious of Banks, and now they are pretty much out on him.
“The feeling in the front office has gone from they questioned the selection of Caleb Banks to the just don’t like him at all,” Pauline said on X Friday, November 13.
Making that information available so it can become public doesn’t serve the Vikings or Banks in any way. His trade value is probably at an all-time low given he has played just 107 defensive snaps across seven games, has 12 combined tackles (just one tackle for loss) with zero sacks and is in the first year of a $21 million contract, which is pricey as far as rookie-scale deals go.
The best way forward is for Minnesota to keep its issues with Banks in-house, motivate him to improve and either repair the relationship on/off the field or at least get him back out there producing so the Vikings can get some value out of their 2026 first-round draft pick before trying to move him at some point down the road.
Whether that happens is a sub-storyline to watch in the coming weeks, as Cousins and the offense’s response to his return will likely dominate the headlines around the organization for at least a few games to come.
Vikings’ 1st-Round DT Caleb Banks Gets Bad News After Benching