EAGAN, Minn. — Boring? It’s not a word that should be associated with the Minnesota Vikings these days. Between the quarterback situation and their search for a general manager, they tend to find a way to remain relevant in the national conversation.
They did it again Thursday night.
Picking at No. 18 in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, interim GM Rob Brzezinski finalized a deeply discussed plan. The Vikings drafted Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks, a choice that was, to most experts around the NFL, a stunner.
“Wow,” one high-ranking NFC official texted before the pick was announced on the television broadcasts.
This widely held reaction was less about Banks’ potential — which executives, scouts and University of Florida staffers agreed is astronomical — than it was about the Vikings’ decision to select a player projected to go much later. Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft expert, slotted him at No. 52 on his big board. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah ranked Banks 51st.
The primary knock from those two analysts (and many others)? Health.
Banks, who measured at 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine, has undergone multiple foot surgeries in recent years. The wariness was obvious. Big men like Banks rely heavily on their feet, and his feet haven’t been able to hold up for an extensive period. Will they in the future?
Any interested team would have to be confident that the answer to this question is a resounding yes, especially if it planned to draft him with a premium pick. The Vikings became that team.
“We spent a lot of time making sure we all felt good about it,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said.
Both he and Brzezinski cited the medical staff’s influence on their final assessments.
“I think we have the best doctors in the country, if not the world,” Brzezinski said. “We have complete confidence in them. There’s no pick without risk, but we feel very good about where Caleb will be when it’s time to go to training camp. So we’re comfortable with the injury.”
Banks explained his foot problems in detail Thursday night. He hurt his left foot in the spring of 2025 and re-injured it during a September game against LSU. He underwent surgery, returned for the team’s final two games and began his pre-draft training.
Sky is the limit 📈@Cbanks22_ pic.twitter.com/PLcDpMnHhm
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 24, 2026
Then, in February at the combine, Banks felt a pop in his foot while preparing for the 40-yard dash. He initially thought his cleats had malfunctioned and woke up the following day without pain. But during his testing, a flare-up forced him to shut it down.
“I didn’t want to put anything on tape that would’ve been detrimental, and I wasn’t myself,” Banks said.
Another procedure to repair a bone in his left foot further affected his draft stock. But a recent CT scan clarified the situation, and a foot and ankle specialist at the Andrews Institute deemed him on pace to be fully cleared for football activities in early June.
The Vikings were aware of the CT scan, O’Connell said. They had done their due diligence. Before the back-and-forth in the third-floor draft room outlining the risks, percentages and possibilities, the Vikings organized multiple touch points with Banks.
Ryan Nielsen, the team’s new defensive line coach, flew to Gainesville, Fla., for a one-on-one session with Banks. They had lunch. Nielsen asked Banks to explain concepts in the classroom setting. There was such a personal feel to the session, Banks said, that he came away feeling like Minnesota was the team that could maximize his potential.
Meanwhile, Patrick Hill, the Vikings’ assistant defensive line coach, monitored Banks closely at the Senior Bowl. The team also invited Banks for a top-30 visit, which featured dozens of prospects at the TCO Performance Center.
“If it wasn’t for the foot,” Brzezinski said, “we would have no chance of seeing him where we picked him. So, we looked at it as an opportunity from that standpoint to acquire a really unique talent.”
In this particular case, unique isn’t hyperbolic. Future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Chris Jones is a frequent comparison for Banks because of his exceptional size (Jones is also 6-6), eye-popping arm length (Banks has 35-inch arms) and lateral quickness. Two years ago, one AFC scout began his scouting report on Banks like this: “Pro Bowl-level talent. Super gifted. Very athletic. Interior pass rusher. He can run. He can bend. He has instincts. He uses his hands.”
One former Florida staffer used the word “unicorn” to describe him, adding that the team constantly talked about how he hasn’t come close to reaching his ceiling yet. Having a coach who would challenge him, the staffer said, would be critical. This wasn’t lost on the Vikings as they stacked their board in recent weeks, even if Banks’ college production (10 1/2 sacks in 35 games) was less than spectacular.
They preferred to use their first-round pick on a potential star, knowing that there are levers they can pull to create more picks on Day 2 to buoy the roster elsewhere.
They also discussed the organization’s recent draft history. For one thing, the Vikings hadn’t taken a defensive lineman in the first round since 2013. Also jarring: Since defensive coordinator Brian Flores arrived in 2023, the only defender the team has drafted in the top 100 of any draft was edge rusher Dallas Turner.
This time around, Brzezinski was committed to taking the best available player, but the Vikings wanted to reinforce their defensive line room at some point. Once the New York Jets plucked Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq off the board, the team moved through its process, opting not to get overly creative in trading down given the potential to miss out on its coveted prospect.
“We really felt like we were able to identify a player with a ceiling of what we believe to be a top-10-caliber talent and difference-maker,” O’Connell said.
Perhaps the best way to sum up this night and this pick is to hearken back to former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s analogy from last year. Following the pick of left guard Donovan Jackson, he told reporters the plan was to swing easily and try to place the ball in the fairway. The goal? Eliminate major mistakes. Prevent disaster.
This year, Brzezinski and the Vikings did the equivalent of trying to cut the corner and drive the green. The risk was worth considering, and they hope they’ll be rewarded with a star.
