Florida Gators' Caleb Banks, a promising defensive lineman with an uncanny burst, could be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' answer to a looming future need, despite injury concerns.
Right now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are worried about winning the NFC South.
But it’s never too early to talk about the NFL Draft.
If Tampa Bay misses the playoffs -- which seemed impossible less than two months ago, but the Bucs are one loss away from that reality -- the team would have a higher pick in the 2026 draft.
Pro Football and Sports Network's latest mock draft has Tampa picking No. 16, right in the middle of the first round. With that selection, PFSN has the Bucs beefing up their interior defensive line with Florida’s Caleb Banks.
“The board fell poorly at linebacker and edge rusher for the Buccaneers in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft,” wrote PFSN’s Ian Cummings, “so I addressed a looming future need at DT. Caleb Banks' small sample size and injury concerns will cloud his stock, but with his inhuman burst and quickness at 6'6", 330 pounds, he could very well be Chester McGlockton reincarnate.”
Banks has dealt with adversity at Florida, suffering multiple injures that put his 2025 season in jeopardy.
But Banks eventually returned for Florida’s Nov. 22 game against Tennessee, which impressed many, including interim head coach Billy Gonzales.
“I think that’s the one thing when you start talking about how this program is and just the thought process of the players,” Gonzales said. “You got a young man that fought hard. He went through rehab, continued to push it to make sure he could try to come back."
Gonzales gives Banks a ton of credit for returning so quickly and working as hard as he did, despite his team's lack of success on the field.
“I think the world of him for fighting to come back and help our team. So extremely impressed with him for him to be out there and doing everything that he can do,” Gonzales said during the season. “He’ll be better this week, obviously. But, yeah, he was a little winded. He’ll be the first one to tell you that.”
As for what Banks can do on the field, two words Gonzales used were “power” and “strength.”
“He’s got strong heavy arms, heavy-handed, and really anchored the inside on some of those plays for us,” Gonzales said.
Banks could have been a high draft pick last year, after ending the season with 21 total tackles (10 solo), seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He opted to return to the Gators for his senior season.