The Athletic: Risers/Fallers from Game 1
📈Max Bredeson
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 17, 2026
📉Caleb Banks
What stood out on film in the Vikings’ first preseason game? Whose stock is up? Whose stock fell? Full reaction:https://t.co/Bmc4TV2Lwj
“Bredeson exploded from a traditional fullback position”
Traditional? Offset a yard behind the LT LG gap is traditional?
Hokay.
Regardless, pretty easy to see Maximus Fullbackicus is a chess piece that will be used often.
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
Shakespeare
Banks is raw, but we knew that.
Like the man says, those traits are still there and plenty sculpt-able.
Hopefully he stays healthy and we get to see some highlights this year that give a glimpse of his ceiling.
Not sure how much/if we'll see of Jakobe Thomas this PS? It's unfortunate, especially after whats happened with Adams.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
purplefaithful wrote:
Banks is raw, but we knew that.
Like the man says, those traits are still there and plenty sculpt-able.
Hopefully he stays healthy and we get to see some highlights this year that give a glimpse of his ceiling.
Not sure how much/if we'll see of Jakobe Thomas this PS? It's unfortunate, especially after whats happened with Adams.
Really what I want to see from Banks is that he is healthy. Just like Big Citrus - it takes some time to adjust to the size and strength of the NFL in the trenches. Banks was drafted on projection which will take some time to develop - but with proper coaching he could become a massive weapon on defense. Turner appears to be turning the corner and he is year 3.
Right now the safety position is by far our biggest question mark.
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
Shakespeare
Kmerry82 wrote:
.... it takes some time to adjust to the size and strength of the NFL in the trenches.
This is all it is and what I mentioned a bit ago. Every player needs to feel it, learn better techniques, get comfortable and then their talent starts to take over. Both players need some time to get used to NFL offensive linemen. They (NFL O-lines) also are much more synchronized as a unit every snap and fire off the ball or get into their stances quicker than college.
StickierBuns wrote:
This is all it is and what I mentioned a bit ago. Every player needs to feel it, learn better techniques, get comfortable and then their talent starts to take over. Both players need some time to get used to NFL offensive linemen. They (NFL O-lines) also are much more synchronized as a unit every snap and fire off the ball or get into their stances quicker than college.
I'm trying to put an over/under on the date of the first time I hear a fan declare that Banks is a bust. Maybe next week? Lol.
Flores is going to bring him along slow like he did with Turner. Although, the difference is we had strong guys ahead of Turner on the depth chart and I can't say that about our current IDL. So we'll see how it goes.
I saw nothing from Banks that would concern me. He's a big, long freak of an athlete who needs to learn to play lower and use his hands better. After game one, I'd still say he's a big, long freak of an athlete who needs to learn to play lower and use his hands better.
Dexter Lawrence
35-inch arms, just 3.5 sacks in his final two seasons in college. Hurt at the combine, where he ran a 5.05 forty with a 1.76 split, taken in the late teens. Several media outlets called him a reach. First preseason game: 15 snaps, 1 tackle, 0 sacks
Caleb Banks
35-inch arms, just 4.5 sacks in his final two seasons in college. Hurt at the combine, where he ran a 5.04 forty with a 1.76 split, taken in the late teens. Several media outlets called him a reach. First preseason game: 22 snaps, 3 tackles, 0 sacks.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
—George Orwell
Based off just that game I'd say
RISERS
Running backs
FALLERS
Passcatchers
Regarding Banks, and as was already said, he's raw. Our defense is weird. It doesn't appear that being bad at run defense is that super critical. Our DTs were "bad at run defense" last year and low and behold our overall run defense was in the top chunk of defenses. That is where I'm expecting him to be most weak. Regarding pass rush. I wouldn't be surprised if he looks pretty underwhelming most plays, but has those handful of splash plays where maybe there's a stunt or something confusing, the OLine isn't fully on point, and Banks's physical advantages lead to a big play. I think the chaos of the Flores defense is going to unlock a lot of things for him, as compared to if he went to a different team and really had to win 1:1 battles to make an impact.
We probably won't see the full Flores chaos in preseason though.
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