The Greenard Vikings opened the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23 with a first-round swing on Caleb Banks, taking the Florida defensive tackle with the 18th pick despite the fact that he was viewed as a talented but recently injured player. They followed that by trading back two spots in the second round and taking Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday at No. 51.
Banks is 6-6 and 330 pounds, and the size is part of what made him attractive. So were the flashes that kept him in first-round conversation even after many teams pushed him down the board when he broke his foot at the combine. He has had two serious foot injuries in less than a year, which is why the selection drew immediate skepticism from draft analysts. Nick Baumgardner called it, “This is bold (if that’s the right word),” and added, “Too big a risk for my taste, though I could easily be proven wrong in a year.”
The pick also fit a broader picture for Minnesota, which entered the draft with nine picks and still had obvious holes to fill at center, safety, receiver, off-ball linebacker and running back. Banks gives the Vikings another high-upside body up front, but he also represents a bet that health will catch up to talent faster than it has so far. Minnesota could have gone in another direction, including Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, but chose to stay on the defensive line.
Golday was a different kind of move. He has been described as one of the great stories of the draft because of where his career started and where it led, and he was incredibly productive at Cincinnati. He was asked to operate in a ton of space there, and his mental processing took a clear jump in 2025, the kind of improvement that can turn a college player into an early NFL contributor. Golday should compete to start right away, giving Minnesota a chance to leave the first two rounds with two defenders who could matter quickly.
That urgency matters because the Vikings were still operating without a general manager in place, and the voices of interim GM Rob Brzezinski, coach Kevin O’Connell, college scouting director Mike Sholiton and defensive coordinator Brian Flores are expected to carry the most weight. Scott Dochterman summed up the moment bluntly: “There’s no GM in place right now in Minnesota, and based on the draft so far, it’s fair to suggest the Vikings might not have one for a while.” For now, the draft board has become the clearest window into how the team wants to build, and on Thursday it showed a franchise willing to trade certainty for upside.