The Minnesota Vikings added some beef in the trenches when they took Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks and Iowa State defensive tackle Domonique Orange with two of their first three picks in last month’s NFL Draft. With the rookie duo weighing a combined 649 pounds, the Vikings and their fans are hoping they can make an immediate impact, even if a challenge awaits at the next level.
But the good news for Vikings fans is that the bar to clear may not be that high. According to NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice, Minnesota had a very good reason to tab the duo to replace free agent busts Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave this offseason, and they could aid the Vikings in doing one thing that Brian Flores’s defense couldn’t do one year ago.
“The veteran plan didn’t work out at defensive tackle, so now the Vikings are turning the position over to rookies,” Filice wrote. “After signing Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave to lucrative multi-year deals last offseason, Minnesota promptly cut bait on both in March. Why? Well, after ranking eighth and second against the run in Brian Flores’s first two seasons as defensive coordinator, the Vikings plummeted to 21st in 2025.”
Vikings DTs Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange must stop the run in their rookie year
There’s a lot to learn for any rookie coming into the NFL, but replacing Allen and Hargrave may not be as tall a task as it seems after last year’s performance against the run.
Allen signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Vikings last spring, but he didn’t look like the two-time Pro Bowler he was with the Washington Commanders. While he had 68 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, he posted a 45.4 grade and 34 run stops in 393 run defense snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Hargrave was in a similar boat. The Vikings signed Hargrave for his pass-rush ability. But in addition to a lackluster 31 pressures and 3.5 sacks against the pass, he owned a 57.3 grade and 20 run stops in 238 snaps against the run, which led to his release and his signing with the Green Bay Packers.
Controversies about Flores’s scheme aside, neither veteran gave the Vikings what they wanted in the middle. The low sack and pressure numbers were one thing, but the poor run defense was another as the entire unit fell off a cliff.
Jalen Redmond should have a big hand in that, posting the highest run defense grade (72.7) and run stop total among interior defenders last season. But Banks and Orange can also help the cause.
Orange was a run-stuffer throughout his time with the Cyclones, posting a run defense grade of 74.8 in 2023, 74.4 in 2024, and 67.4 in 2025. While Orange needs to work on his career missed tackle rate of 17.4 percent, His 6-foot-4, 322-pound frame should allow him to clog running lanes more than the departing veterans did a year ago.
Banks has some work to do, but looked good in a limited sample size with 415 career snaps against the run. In those snaps, Banks’s run defense grade hovered in the 60s, including a 67.9 grade during the 2024 season. While his 21 stops and a 25.5% missed tackle rate are concerns, the Vikings saw enough upside to take him in the first round and hope his foot problems subside by the time next season begins.
The Vikings also drafted Banks for help rushing the passer, and there’s a good chance that could happen if he’s healthy. But stopping the run has to be a top priority, and if Orange and Banks want to get on the field right away, that’s something they’ll have to master quickly.
Add us as a preferred source on Google