Kelvin Banks Jr. flies under radar after top-10 draft pick

By Ross Jackson

It’s not very often that a team invests a top-ten selection on a player and for the next few months that player rarely gets discussed. However, that has been the case for New Orleans Saints’ first round pick and tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.

Banks was selected with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is expected to immediately be the team’s starter at left guard and yet has barely received any attention.

With the 9th pick in the Draft, the #Saints select
Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr. 💪#SaintsDraft | @CoxComm pic.twitter.com/Npuz1qiZCW

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) April 25, 2025

Tyler Shough Was Drafted In The Second Round

The Saints followed up their first-round selection by taking a quarterback, Louisville’s Tyler Shough, earlier than the franchise has since 1971 when former passer Archie Manning was selected in the first round. It was also the first time in the team’s history that a quarterback was selected in the second round.

All expectations are that Shough will be the starting quarterback for New Orleans at some point in the 2025 season, based on his high draft position and the tie between a first-year head coach and a highly drafted quarterback prospect.

Whether he starts Week One or later, Shough immediately became the biggest story out of the team’s draft despite Banks’ top-ten status, therefore dominating the conversation.

The Ripple Effects Drew More Attention

More than Banks himself, the entire offensive line shuffle has been a major story this offseason. With former left tackle Trevor Penning now moving to the interior and with last year’s first-rounder Taliese Fuaga moving back to his collegiate position at right tackle, the changes along the line have created a lot of intrigue.

Unfortunately, that intrigue has overshadowed Banks even though he is the reason the shuffling is able to happen in the first place. Banks’ is set to be a sure thing at left tackle for New Orleans, which has allotted them the freedom to move players around in an attempt to land the best starting five along the offensive line.

Without Banks, the line’s rearrangement would not be possible, even though he isn’t often the focus of the realignment.

Banks Is A Sure Thing

A Longhorn in the trenches.

Let’s get to work, @Kelvinbanksjr12 ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/a58GktewZC

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) April 26, 2025

The only other Saints first-round pick in recent history that may have gotten less chatter during his inaugural offseason might have been right guard Cesar Ruiz. Most of the conversation around Ruiz centered around who else was on the board when he was selected. But because the selection was perceived widely as a risk by New Orleans, the conversations were still active and present.

For Banks, no one seems to have any questions about him. Which is a great thing for the Saints, but not the greatest material for discussion and debate.

Banks was the 2024 Outland Trophy winner, Lombardi Award winner, split the Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner and was also a Unanimous All-American and All-SEC player in his final year. The fact of that matter is that Banks is one of the best tackle prospects in this year’s draft class and without as many questions circulating the newly-minted New Orleans Saint, the talk around him remains minimal, though always positive.