Vikings 1st-Round Pick Had a Day to Forget, Says Analytics Site

PFF stepped away less than impressed. Does that matter at all?

Vikings 1st-Round pick Caleb Banks has huge potential to match his huge size. Being hurt for so long, though, has undermined his ability to get the valuable reps he needs to further refine his game. Getting into game action against the New York Giants to begin the preseason showed some of those rough edges that are still being sanded down.

Vikings 1st-Round Pick Gets Tepid PFF Grade

The analytics website lists 41 defensive players for the Vikings. Sitting in last place is Mr. Banks, who sees a 30.4 grade attached to his effort.

Recent years have involved the Vikings scooping up some sizzling athletes very high before seeing them struggle. Safety Lewis Cine stands out here as somebody who is essentially unplayable in the NFL despite oozing physical ability. Pivoting off Kyle Hamilton is an all-time miss in Vikings draft history.

More recently, the draft picks sunk into J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner inspire concern, though of a much lesser intensity. Both are at least NFL players who boast ample upside due to promising abilities. Neither, though, have come close to fulfilling the cost of acquisition.

As a result, there’s some concern about Caleb Banks that aren’t entirely fair. He’s his own man and should be judged as such, but the well-worn path of prioritizing elite traits on a raw talent hasn’t gone well in recent seasons.

Check out a poor rep from the Giants game that got shared on social media by Will Ragatz:

Smart offensive linemen are going to recognize that wrestling with Banks from directly across from him just isn’t going to go well. Even in the NFL, Banks is unusually large and strong. Part of the solution rests in getting low (as Ragatz points out in his pad level observation). Another part of the mix is cutting him in half.

Circle back around to the clip to see what I mean. The guard gets underneath Banks, doing so on half of the DT’s body. Getting that side angle is aided by the offensive tackle crashing down on Banks, pushing the hulking rookie inward so the guard can get a better half-body angle.

In an earlier comment online, I emphasized Caleb Banks losing his balance early in the rep as a major factor in getting pushed back: “The LoS is a leverage and balance battle. Had asked Kevin O’Connell about concerns with Caleb Banks being raw on the night of the draft. KOC pushed back but this is the sort of thing that needs to get polished up. Not the end of the world, but something to note.”

A single poor game (much less a single poor play) is no reason for panic. The defensive lineman is still getting his feet underneath him as he bounces back from consecutive foot injuries that have undermined his development time. Quite possibly, all the kid needs is more opportunity to soak up coaching.

Nevertheless, there are a pair of factors that are both true. First, the Vikings picked Caleb Banks with the goal of having a great player for a decade, not a single preseason game. Second, the Vikings picked Caleb Banks to immediately help fill the openings at defensive tackle created by the departures of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.

Sort through the nuance with the push and pull of these factors in a manner that you see fit.

Per PFF, several of the Vikings who played the best ball were rookies. Undrafted safety Jacob Thomas tossed an elite 92.5 onto the grading board, second among all Vikings defenders. Jake Golday came in at sixth with an 81.6.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.