Vikings top draft pick healthy and ready to play in 2026

The Minnesota Vikings took a massive swing with their first pick of the NFL Draft last April. After years of questionable draft picks, the Vikings selected Caleb Banks, an ultra-talented 6-foot-6, 330-pound defensive lineman from Florida who was limited to three games in 2025 due to a broken foot.

Banks was dominant in the second and third days of Senior Bowl practices, appearing to boost his draft stock. But that momentum was halted when he re-broke his foot while running the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine.

That didn’t dissuade Minnesota from taking him with the 18th overall pick. Kevin O’Connell and interim GM Rob Brzezinski were emphatic that the Vikings’ medical staff was confident Banks was past his injury and would be ready in time for training camp.

Banks has been a full participant in camp and logged 55 defensive snaps in three preseason games. He said he still needs to get back into football shape and said he would need to work on his conditioning following Minnesota’s second preseason game.

But it appears Banks has made a full recovery from the foot injury, and the focus now is on growing his role in Brian Flores’ defense, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote over the weekend.

“Banks has mostly looked like a player who didn’t see much action last season,” Seifert said. “In the preseason opener, he played high and was consistently driven off the ball. His performance improved the following week, and there’s hope Banks will continue along that trajectory.”

PFF wasn’t a huge fan of Banks during the preseason. He received a 36.7 overall grade. However, his grade improved each week, going from 30.4 to 48.1 to 55.3.

That doesn’t mean Banks will continue to ascend when the regular season begins. But his most glaring pre-draft issue appears to be in the rearview mirror for now.

This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Vikings top draft pick healthy and ready to play in 2026