Vikings address inside need at No. 18 with Banks
Mike Florio analyzes the Vikings using the No. 18 pick on defensive tackle Caleb Banks and how he can bring balance to the defense.
Video Transcript
The Vikings clearly needed help on the defensive side of the ball, and with the eighteenth pick in the draft, they they get a guy at a position of extreme need, defensive tackle.
The first defensive tackle taken in round one.
Caleb Banks from Florida gets plugged right in, and last year, they had Javon Hargraves, they had Jonathan Allen.
They had a great performance week one Monday night game against the Bears.
The Vikings somehow won, but after that, just didn't work out.
Both guys were released.
So you go get the young guy, the cheap guy, the guy with that eighteenth overall selection.
Caleb Banks comes in.
And the Vikings, when they have been good, they have had good defensive tackle play.
Think about the guys over the years, from John Randle to Keith Millard, all the way back to Alan Page.
They need something like that if they're going to really be balanced.
The offense is good enough if they can get the best out of their quarterbacks.
The defense needs to improve, and having a great presence in the interior of the defensive line makes it easier for everyone else to do their jobs all the way back to the secondary.
So that's what the Vikings will be hoping for Caleb Banks as they try to do better than they did last year.
Although down the stretch, they won five straight games and finished third in the division.
They're gonna try to build on that.
They needed help in the interior defensive line.
They got it in the first round of the draft.
