Well, that is one way to look at it.
While people rush to make sense of the Minnesota Vikings first round selection in the 2026 NFL draft, ESPN's Benjamin Solak is praising the "risky" selection and the Vikings strategy for Caleb Banks and the defensive line. The defensive tackle feels like a Brian Flores pick given his fit for the defense, but his medicals are a red flag.
Solak explains why he believes the Vikings gave themselves a security blanket.
"I would've told you pre-draft that Kevin O'Connell is just gonna go nuts. He's embarrassed by the offense last year. The Vikings take Caleb Banks, the defensive tackle out of Florida, at 18. That is an extremely risky pick. He had multiple foot injuries over the last 12 to 18 months. We're talking about a 330-pound guy who's got broken metatarsals.
The film is disgusting when he is healthy. When we see teams that don't have a general manager, we tend to see. A little bit more risk-prone drafting, Kevin O'Connell's, like, send it, baby, Caleb Banks. Woo. Because we're worried about banks' availability. Let's just double dip by drafting Domonique Orange, big citrus in the third round.
In the event that Banks can't go, we still got a body type here. So I appreciate the double dip a lot. Even though Banks was quite high-risk, I think they did it in a way that mitigated that risk."
You can never have enough defensive linemen. That has never been a thing in the NFL. However, selecting a player with a checkered injury history who profiles early on as a two-down run stuffer with a first-round pick is a tough pill to swallow for Vikings fans.
Banks has all the potential to develop into a three-down player, but for now, the team will have to hope on that development and hope the injury history isn't a precursor to what will happen in the NFL. Flores will be tasked with utilizing Banks in his defense while playing to his strengths as a prospect.
Betting on Flores and his defensive mind isn't a bad idea, as the Vikings' defensive coordinator is at the top of the league as far as defensive coordinators go. This is a risky bet on Banks and throw in the defensive players they passed on, and the comparisons will be part of Banks' story and development.
The draft can be a crapshoot, but Solak believes the double dip removes chance from the draft class and first-round pick.