Vikings use first-round pick on Florida DT Caleb Banks, who broke his foot before the combine

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Vikings selected Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night, adding some interior bulk and athleticism with a raw prospect whose recent injury likely pushed him down the board.

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 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.

"We have the best doctors in the country, if not the world, and we have complete confidence in them," Vikings interim general manager Rob Brzezinski said. "There's nothing without risk in any player you select, but we feel really good about where Caleb will be when it's time to go to training camp. So we're comfortable with the injury."

Banks told reporters that the second injury was due in part to him wearing the wrong type of cleats, but that a recent CT scan went well and his recovery is on schedule.

He said he looked forward to showing the Vikings and defensive coordinator Brian Flores what he can do on the field.

"I feel like I'm a freak athlete one on one. I know if I develop the way I could, I'm going to be dangerous," Banks said.

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 Flores' system. If Banks is healthy, he could form a sturdy tandem for the future with budding standout Jalen Redmond.

"It's really been some time since we really invested an early pick in the interior of the defensive line," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "We would've loved to have had a full inventory of tape from the 2025 season, but the 2024 tape looked really good."

Banks said that after a long and tense day, he ended up exactly where he was hoping he'd go.

"The whole day was nerve-wracking, if I'm being honest. I kind of had the jitters the whole entire day," he said. "I was hoping it was the Vikings - I loved everything that I seen when I went there, from the people to the players and the coaches, just the whole atmosphere around Minnesota."

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.

Longtime salary cap executive Brzezinski has taken over the role on an interim basis, in charge of fostering consensus between the coaching staff and the scouting department in the preparation for and direction of the draft. Brzezinski spoke several times this spring of the importance of not prioritizing a pick for present need over long-term value, making clear the Vikings in this transition would be content to let the talent fall to them and focus on restocking their depth with four top-100 picks.

The Vikings will take three picks into the second night of the draft on Friday, 49th overall in the second round and 82nd and 97th overall in the third round.