It's certainly no secret that not everybody was on board with the Minnesota Vikings using the No. 18 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks, given the concerns surrounding his injured left foot. But former Gators head coach Billy Napier is certainly not one of those people.
Vikings insider Alec Lewis recently put together a piece in which college coaches and staffers gave their thoughts on the NFC-high nine selections Minnesota made during the draft, and while Napier may not be overly fond of the fact that Florida dismissed him last October after a 3-4 start to the 2025 season, he's certainly fond of Banks and clearly believes the Vikes made the right choice in looking past the injury to take the 23-year-old in the opening round.
"I would just tell you that, within the last decade or 20 years," Banks said, "this is a generational height, length, twitch and intelligence type of guy who also has a competitive streak that makes him different."
And Napier wasn't the only one to sing Banks' praises.
Caleb Banks' college D-line coach wants him to prove the doubters of the Minnesota Vikings rookie wrong
The injury concerns aren't going to go away anytime soon.
For those unaware, after opting to return to Florida for a third season (his fifth year in college overall after two seasons at Louisville) after a strong 2024 campaign in which he tallied 7.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, Banks injured his left foot during training camp last summer, tried to fight through it but couldn't, and ultimately appeared in only three games in 2025.
While healthy enough to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine a couple of months back, the Detroit native unfortunately injured that same left foot, suffering a fractured fourth metatarsal, and is now unable to participate in full football activities until at least June. So, the concerns were (and still are) naturally understandable.
But Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell obviously wasn't scared off, saying after the selection that the 6-foot-6, 327-pounder is a "top-10 caliber talent," and that he and the Vikes' assistants can't wait to coach him.
And Florida defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, who obviously played a big part in developing Banks, says that the Vikings absolutely made the right call in looking past the concerns. But as he explained to Lewis, he also told his now-former player that it's time to make Minnesota look good for making that call.
“I was there at his draft (party), and I was proud of him,” Chatman said. “But I said, ‘Hey, it’s time to get your a– on that plane, and it’s time to go to work.’ I told him, ‘People are doubting you right now. People don’t think you can do it. But the Vikings do. They showed that they believe. They’re saying that they believe you can reach your ceiling.’”
All that's left to do now is to just wait and see if this gamble pays off, but Banks clearly has plenty of people in his corner.
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