EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings added extra length and a whole lotta power to their defensive line group Thursday.
Minnesota opened the 2026 NFL Draft by tabbing former Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th overall pick.
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds, Banks boasted the longest wingspan at the NFL Combine, measuring a whopping 7 feet, 1.75 inches. That wingspan landed in the 99th percentile for defensive tackles and is the longest recorded at the combine since 1999.
View photos of DT Caleb Banks who was selected No. 18 overall in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Banks played only three games for the Gators in 2025 and recorded six tackles, one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery, missing most of the campaign due to a foot injury that required surgery. He has 34 collegiate games (24 starts) under his belt for Louisville and Florida and totaled 48 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, three passes defensed and a blocked field goal.
NFL Media's Bucky Brooks and analytics site Pro Football Focus ranked Banks as the second-best defensive lineman in this year's draft class, while Brooks' counterpart Daniel Jeremiah listed him No. 3. The Athletic's Dane Brugler ranked Banks fourth in the position group, and ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., ranked him fifth.
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Brooks highlighted Banks' "immense size, freakish talent and heavy hands to dominate opponents at the line of scrimmage."
"While injuries prevented him from putting together a statement-making 2025 campaign, the disruptive flashes at the Senior Bowl matched the performance from his junior season," Brooks wrote.
Banks joins a Minnesota defensive line group that has changed significantly over the past couple of seasons. The Vikings last spring signed veteran free agents Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen but have parted ways with both players; Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez garnered attention last season and are returning to help lead the room that also includes returnees Elijah Williams, Taki Taimani and 2025 draft selection Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins.
Vikings history in NFL Draft
Banks is the third player ever drafted from Florida by Minnesota in the first round, joining Percy Harvin in 2009 and and Sharrif Floyd 2013 and 12th Gator ever selected by the Vikings.
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