Fox Sports Links Familiar Name to Vikings in 2023 Mock Draft
Dustin Baker
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It shouldn’t be called “mock draft season” anymore for the Minnesota Vikings. The title should be “Deonte Banks season.”
The Vikings have the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, an asset many expect the club to trade. But if they do no such thing, everyone and their favorite member expect Minnesota to draft cornerback Deonte Banks from the University of Maryland.
Fox Sports Links Familiar Name to Vikings in 2023 Mock Draft
Fox Sports continued the recent trend Wednesday, prognosticating Banks to Minnesota like about five other outfits in the last couple of weeks. Banks-to-Vikings is a thing, so you should get familiar with the man.
Banks, a big and physical cornerback at 6’2″ and 205 pounds, is said to be at his best with press coverage — a style likely to be embraced and endorsed by new Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Last year, Minnesota touted the opposite of man coverage for most of the season, and the team wound up surrendering the second-most yards in the NFL to opponents. With Flores in charge, the working theory is that Banks could fit right in with the 2023 defensive plan.
Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano authored a mock draft this week and wrote about Banks and the Vikings, “The Vikings’ terrible pass defense had no one who could effectively cover the Giants’ terrible receiving corps in the playoffs. They are desperate for help at the front and back ends. The 6-foot, 197-pound Banks ran a 4.35 at the combine and could immediately step in as the best corner in Minnesota.”
Vacchiano’s account of Banks’ height and weight differs from his Combine measurements.
The Terrapin corner scripted a magnificent NFL Combine last week, and that did not hurt his momentum to be selected early in the draft one bit. Banks produced the following marks in Indianapolis:
- 40-yard: 4.35 (92nd percentile)
- Vert: 42″ (97th percentile)
- Broad: 11’4” (98th percentile)
Pro Football Focus Trevor Sikkema opined on the performance, “That athleticism absolutely shows up on tape as one of the best coverage players in that class. First round player.”
ESPN’s Jordan Reid, also a Vikings fan, told Vikings reporter Gabe Henderson last week, “Deonte Banks from Maryland — he’s one I would put a gold star beside if I was Vikings fans. I think he’s going to be a name you see projected to the Vikings.”
The guy is everywhere in the Vikings mock draft realm, with Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, NFL.com, PFF, and now Fox Sports forecasting Banks to Minnesota.
Banks tallied 38 total tackles, 8 passes defended, and 1 interception in 2022, his final season as a Terrapin. His “weakness” is injury, as he played just 30 games in college. He’s also said to lack elite explosiveness and closing speed.
Keep an eye on Minnesota’s free-agent doings because if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah signs an expensive cornerback like Jamel Dean or James Bradberry, the Vikings may not invest 1st-Round draft capital on another cornerback. They already have a youth CB movement on the roster with Andrew Booth, Cameron Dantzler, and Akayleb Evans.
The NFL draft is 49 days away.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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