By Matthew Coller
1-on-1 with Caleb Banks
The Minnesota Vikings’ first-round pick didn’t see much of the field in Week 1 but had five tackles and four run stops (tackles on an unsuccessful play) against the Chicago Bears while filling in for Ty Ingram-Dawkins and then had two QB pressures in 12 snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.
I asked Banks how he’s viewing his rotational role.
“We gotta earn your snaps here. So I've been doing everything I can to be able to go out there with the guys out there and just try to dominate as much as I can to make the impact,” Banks told Purple Insider. “When you get the opportunity, you gotta take it and run with it. So no matter if I get one snap, two snaps, three, four, 50, you got to get what you can take and do your job and when you're not in, you got to cheer for other guys and take mental reps.”
The Vikings’ defense asks unique things of the 3-4 defensive ends and defensive tackles, often requiring them to be disciplined in rush lanes and unselfish rather than trying to shoot upfield toward the quarterback on every play.
Banks said that his college role wasn’t like what he’s doing in Minnesota but he’s enjoying the process of learning it.
“Florida was kind of just line up and play ball,” Banks said. “Here there’s a lot more to it. I enjoy that type of stuff and I like the scheme that I'm playing in right now. I think it's fun. I think it's very disruptive. I would hate to be a quarterback player against Brian Flores. It’s pretty dope, but you just lock in in the meeting rooms and you would do your job.”
One thing that we’ve heard about Banks’ development from Brian Flores and Kevin O’Connell is that the 6-foot-6 Banks needs to keep working on his pad level so offensive linemen do not get underneath him and gain leverage.
He said that that’s the main focus every day for him.
“Doing everything that I can [to improve it],” Banks said. “It starts at practice, if I’m working in a move, I’ve got to stay low. Coach Nielsen always saying ‘pad level, no matter if it’s low or high, just to kind of remind me. [Kyle Van Noy], he tells me all the time, ‘focus on your pad level before every snap…stay low, stay stable, so you can have more power.’ I’ve been trying to do that the past few games.”
Banks said “absolutely” when I asked if he was enjoying being a sponge and taking in all the new technical elements to the pro game. He added that his teammates keep pumping him up and encouraging him to stay motivated.
“Every time before I go out there and play a game, before I practice, [Dallas Turner] will walk past me [and say] ‘nobody believe in you,’” Banks said. “He kind of just kind of gave me, like an edge, like, ‘okay, like, yeah,’ that’s something I kind of need a little bit. “