Kelvin Banks Jr.

Draft Rumors: Hunter, Sanders, Banks

April 20th, 2025 at 8:36pm CST by Ely Allen

With the 2025 NFL Draft just four days out, the Browns are increasingly expected to select Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter with the second overall pick in the first round. Several sources have told FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano that Cleveland will take the multi-positional talent at No. 2 overall, clearing the path for Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter to land with the Giants.

The Hunter-to-Cleveland steam has been building over the last few weeks, especially following comments from general manager Andrew Berry indicating the team’s willingness to play Hunter on both sides of the ball. The reigning Heisman has repeatedly expressed his desire to continue his two-way exploits in the NFL, even saying he would consider sitting out if he’s only permitted to play one position.

It seems, though, that Hunter can avoid that potential outcome in Cleveland, and the closer we get to Thursday, the more likely that outcome is to occur.

Here are a few other draft rumors from around the NFL:

Hunter’s teammate, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, has been one of the draft’s most polarizing prospects in the last few months. According to ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler, some scouts believe Sanders’ head coach at Colorado and father, NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, is contributing to the wide range of evaluations. Typically, when scouts or position coaches visit a university to either watch tape or conduct a workout with a prospect, they will visit with a staff member, usually a head strength coach or NFL liaison to elicit some frank and honest information about the prospect. Some believe that Deion being the father of Shedeur and the superior of these employees has created a conflict wherein NFL personnel have had difficulty getting an understanding of who Shedeur is because of Deion’s influence.
After missing half of his junior year after undergoing hip surgery, Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison did not participate in drills and workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine or the Fighting Irish’s pro day. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, though, Morrison will conduct “a positional workout for teams on Monday” at his former high school in Arizona. Morrison currently grades as a potential Day 2 pick, and his father, former Washington safety Darryl Morrison, is currently the team chaplain for the Cardinals.
Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. has been a popular prospect leading up to the first-round of the draft. We noted a visit for Banks two weeks ago with the Falcons, but Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 updated his visit list to include the Panthers, Patriots, Cardinals, Cowboys, Raiders, and 49ers. He adds that the Texans spoke with Banks at his pro day in Austin, as well.

Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.

Falcons Owner Arthur Blank On Draft Approach; Team Hosted Texas LT Kelvin Banks Jr.

April 6th, 2025 at 4:55pm CST by Rory Parks

4:55pm: D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, to no surprise, the Falcons have “heavily scouted” the top edge rushers in the 2025 class. The same is also true, however, of offensive tackles. That helps explain Atlanta’s interest in Banks, whom Ledbetter projects to the Falcons in his latest mock draft. Considerable focus on the defensive side of the ball would come as no surprise, but other options appear to be on the table regarding the first round.

11:55am: The Falcons finished in the bottom-10 in terms of both total defense and scoring defense in 2024, so they are widely projected to pick a defensive player in the first round of this month’s draft. Owner Arthur Blank recently offered further support for that belief.

“The emphasis during the draft will be certainly on the defensive side of the ball,” Blank said at last week’s league meetings (via Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com). “It’s pretty obvious to everybody, I would say.”

Atlanta fired one-and-done defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake this offseason and replaced him with Jeff Ulbrich. One of Ulbrich’s primary tasks will be coaxing more production out of a pass rush that finished with the second-fewest sacks in the league (31) last season, and to that end, the team has held visits with potential first-round EDGE talents like Marshall’s Mike Green and Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart.

Of course, the Falcons are not limiting their pre-draft evaluations to defensive players. Interestingly, the team recently held a private workout with Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., per longtime Longhorn beat writer Brian Davis. Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot and HC Raheem Morris were in attendance.

Banks is currently ranked as the 31st-best prospect on Daniel Jeremiah’s latest big board, and Jeremiah says some clubs view Banks as a guard at the professional level. That said, he certainly has the talent to stick as a tackle, and many recent mocks project him to be selected in the first half of the first round. The Falcons presently hold the No. 15 pick and could therefore be in position to select Banks with that choice, but he is likely to be gone by the time Atlanta is back on the clock with its No. 46 pick.

The Falcons have invested considerable draft capital and dollars into their O-line, and they currently have Jake Matthews set to reprise his long-standing role as their starting LT. Matthews, 33, may be nearing the end of his career, but the team recently authorized an extension that keeps him under club control through 2028.

On the right side, Banks could serve as a near-future replacement for RT Kaleb McGary, who is entering the final year of his contract and whose trade or release would yield considerable cap savings. But McGary currently operates as the blindside protector for second-year quarterback and southpaw Michael Penix Jr., so it is unclear if the team would be comfortable plugging a rookie into that post right away.

Even if the Falcons are one of the teams that view Banks as an interior blocker, he may not see immediate playing time if he were to land in Atlanta. The team currently has 2023 second-rounder Matthew Bergeron penciled in at left guard after he turned in a quality 2024 season, and right guard Chris Lindstrom is coming off his third straight Pro Bowl campaign and is (like Matthews) under contract through 2028.

With so many resources tied up in their offensive front already and with so many needs on defense, the Falcons were forced to let center Drew Dalman walk in free agency (Dalman signed a three-year, $42MM contract with the Bears). However, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the team is perfectly content to have Ryan Neuzil, who started a career-high eight games last year in relief of an injured Dalman, serve as Penix’s full-time snapper. Per Ledbetter, both Morris and Fontenot have spoken highly of Neuzil’s abilities.

Texas T Kelvin Banks Jr. Declares For Draft

January 12th, 2025 at 6:39pm CST by Ely Allen

The 2025 NFL Draft is a strange one in that, unlike most drafts, this one lacks a collection of top-tier offensive linemen. That makes the evaluation of the top tackle prospects this year that much more important. One such prospect, Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., announced his intent to forgo his senior year of college to enter the draft on his Instagram.

As a consensus five-star prospect and the third-ranked tackle recruit in the nation, Banks had all the big offers coming out of Summer Creek HS on the north side of Houston. While he did entertain a visit with Mario Cristobal and company in Oregon, the rest of his five official visits were fairly local, starting with LSU and Oklahoma State before considering the two in-state big dogs, Texas and Texas A&M. Though he took all his visits in the summer, he spent his senior season uncommitted before choosing the Longhorns on the early National Signing Day.

Texas didn’t wait to employ Banks’ services, starting one of the gems of their 2022 class at left tackle for all 13 games of his true freshman season. Banks immediately impressed, garnering second-team All-Big 12 honors while contributing to a line that helped Bijan Robinson secure first-round status. As a sophomore, Banks drew even more attention in national award voting and, for the second straight season, ensured that the top running back taken in the draft would come out of Austin.

Banks’ junior year was a bit of a mixed bag. His first two seasons in the college football warranted speculation that he may end up being the top offensive lineman in the draft, and he did enough to win both the Lombardi Award (best lineman of the year) and the Outland Trophy (best interior lineman in college football). His first season of SEC play, though, was mostly considered underwhelming by scouts, relative to the lofty expectations he had set. Still, with a lack of other top options, Banks is projected as a first-rounder and, likely, a top-10 pick.

The first concern for Banks is size. Listed by the Longhorns as 6-foot-4, 320, plenty of NFL teams will view Banks as a guard at the next level — an argument he can counter by pointing to his three sacks allowed over three seasons of only playing left tackle. His pass protection has been his strength, and it tends to be more consistent than his abilities as a run blocker. That being said, when going up against crafty pass rushers with a wide tool set, he can be caught easily out of position or on the ground.

Regardless, the tools to be a top lineman in the NFL are present. ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks Banks as the top offensive lineman in the class and the 10th-best overall prospect in the draft. Kiper’s colleagues at ESPN (Matt Miller, Jordan Reid, and Field Yates) all agree with Banks ranking as the top tackle. In his midseason draft rankings, Dane Brugler of The Athletic had dropped Banks a bit, ranking him as the second-best tackle behind LSU’s Will Campbell and the 18th-best overall prospect in the class.

In addition to Banks’ announcement, Texas saw junior running back Jaydon Blue announce his intentions to forgo his senior year of college, as well (per his X account). While Blue broke out in his junior year with career-highs in rushing yards (730), rushing touchdowns (8), and all receiving stats (42 receptions, 368 yards, 6 touchdowns), he played second fiddle to sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner. With Wisner’s role only set to increase next year, Blue is likely making a business decision here, choosing the draft after a solid year over the transfer portal.

Though he does possess some flash and playmaking ability, Blue is not present on any pre-draft rankings. The 2025 draft is set to be extremely deep with quality running backs, so expect Blue to end up as a mid- to late-round flier, if selected.

Draft Rumors: Tackles, Buffs, Sanders

November 30th, 2024 at 2:51pm CST by Ely Allen

Often in the NFL Draft, offensive tackles are slotted into some of the top picks of the draft, usually as contenders for a No. 1 overall draft pick. Recent years saw Joe Alt and JC Latham taken in the top 10 in 2024, Paris Johnson and Darnell Wright in 2023, and Ikem Ekwonu, Evan Neal, and Charles Cross in 2022 alone. This year, while there are surely some candidates to be first-round picks in this year’s class, an elite, top-10 tackle seems to be absent among them.

LSU’s Will Campbell is seemingly the only offensive lineman who has been granted a consensus opinion as a first-rounder, but many doubt that he will continue to play tackle in the NFL. Per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, a perceived lack of strength has scouts shifting him inside to guard at the next level. Kelvin Banks Jr. at Texas held first-round potential for much of the year, but up-and-down performances throughout the year, accompanied by a rough performance against Georgia at home, have put that promise in doubt. Lastly, Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons likely held the highest chance at being a top-drafted tackle, but a torn patellar tendon will limit his availability until summer and diminish his draft stock.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid agrees with Breer’s sentiment, claiming that the entire offensive line group lacks the depth and top-end talent of last year’s group by a wide margin. He notes that Campbell, Banks, and Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea could all slide inside to guard and adds that most players in the class are getting Day 2 or 3 grades.

Here are some other rumors coming from the 2025 NFL Draft class:

While the merit of early Heisman attestations is still to be determined, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders likely couldn’t care less. With several NFL teams in attendance to watch a drubbing of the lowly Cowpokes at Oklahoma State, Hunter and Sanders likely had eyes on late-April. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, one NFL executive claimed that not only are Hunter and Sanders going to be drafted in the top five picks, but he also believes they will go back-to-back at Nos. 1 & 2 overall.
In support of that prediction, Breer noted that the Giants sent a bevy of executives — general manager Joe Schoen, assistant general manager Brandon Brown, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell, and special assistant Jessie Armstead — to Boulder for practices and the game this week to get looks at Sanders with quarterback Daniel Jones already gone. In our latest look at the most-updated draft order (if the season were to end today), the Giants slotted in at No. 2 overall, tied with the Jaguars and Raiders with a 2-9 record. Since then, the Giants and Raiders have both lost additional contests, moving them up to Nos. 1 & 2, respectively, but if the Jaguars also fall tomorrow, they would be reinstated at No. 1.