The Minnesota Vikings selected Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th pick in the first round of the NFL draft, adding some interior bulk and…<\/p>\n
MINNEAPOLIS(AP) \u2014 The Minnesota Vikings selected Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks<\/a> with the 18th pick in the first round of the NFL draft<\/a> on Thursday night, adding some interior bulk and athleticism with a raw prospect whose recent injury likely pushed him down the board.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-6, 327-pound Banks cracked the fourth metatarsal bone in his left foot in February while practicing for the 40-yard dash the night before the NFL scouting combine<\/a> in Indianapolis. He had surgery on it last month, his second procedure in six months. Injuries to his left foot caused him to miss games in both 2023 and 2025 for the Gators.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the best doctors in the country, if not the world, and we have complete confidence in them,\u201d Vikings interim general manager Rob Brzezinski said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing without risk in any player you select, but we feel really good about where Caleb will be when it\u2019s time to go to training camp. So we\u2019re comfortable with the injury.\u201d<\/p>\n The Vikings signed veteran defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency last year but cut them both for salary cap savings last month. Neither Allen nor Hargrave generated much of a pass rush in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ system. If Banks is healthy, he could form a sturdy tandem for the future with budding standout Jalen Redmond.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really been some time since we really invested an early pick in the interior of the defensive line,\u201d coach Kevin O’Connell said. \u201cWe would\u2019ve loved to have had a full inventory of tape from the 2025 season, but the 2024 tape looked really good.\u201d<\/p>\n After finishing 9-8 amid persistent quarterback problems with both health and performance, the Vikings missed the playoffs and fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. <\/p>\n