With his scouting report, Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is a prime candidate to be the first player selected at his position in the 2025 NFL Draft. What specifically does he bring to the table, and where does he stand to further refine his game?
Kelvin Banks Jr.’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’4″
- Weight: 324 pounds
- Position: Offensive Tackle
- School: Texas
- Current Year: Junior
Banks hails from his hometown of Humble, Texas — but his beginnings on the football stage were anything but humble.
From the start, Banks distinguished himself as a potentially special player, and in the 2022 recruiting class, he carried a five-star billing out of Summer Creek High School. Banks signed with the in-state titan Texas Longhorns and immediately became their starting left tackle.
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Through 2022 and 2023, Banks started 27 straight games on the left side, protecting Quinn Ewers‘ blindside. In 2022, he was a Freshman All-American. In 2023, he was a first-team All-Big 12 performer and a contender for the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award.
Needless to say, Banks’ immediate acclimation and high-level performance at Texas has earned the intrigue of NFL scouts, and there’s a chance he could be the first blocker off the board next April.
Banks’ Scouting Report
Strengths
- Squatty, low-to-the-ground blocker with high-end mass and elite proportional length.
- Flashes impressive quickness out of his stance and can get depth on his kick.
- Extremely explosive linear athlete with the range to cover swaths of ground on pulls.
- Energized mover with elite lateral burst on recovery when faced up with rushers.
- Strong lower body can yield overwhelming leg drive and churn on power exertions.
- Has the elite anchor strength to seal off the front side on run plays and widen gaps.
- Has excellent natural leverage and can play with controlled lean while loading his base.
- Plays impressively low in the run game, routinely getting under and plowing opponents.
- Able to square up pass rushers and play with synergetic technique, matching with feet.
- Can tempo his footwork and align his base to hedge for both outside and inside moves.
- Has shown he can flash his outside hand to bait rushers, then latch and nullify rushes.
- Can sequentially shock rushers with elite hand power, then drop the anchor and lock in.
- Doesn’t get tunnel vision on stunts and has the awareness to instantly pick up loopers.
- With his length, can violently anchor and suffocate rushers with stifling grip strength.
- Absolute mauler who will slab defenders in open space with unhinged tenacity.
Weaknesses
- Feet can be heavy and plodding on recovery, delaying recalibration against counters.
- Foot speed, balance, and body control are all inconsistent in post-contact situations.
- Often bends at the waist, ducks his head, and lurches as a run blocker, losing control.
- Can lose composure and balance when leaning past center of gravity in pass protection.
- Hand placement on extensions and drive blocks in the run game can be more consistent.
- Sometimes has his hands too wide in his stance with not enough elbow load.
- Can be baited into retreating up the apex and widening too far by well-timed spins.
- Sometimes plants or extends too early against counters and stunts, losing synergy.
- Frame is dense and slightly high-cut, which yields moderate hip stiffness on redirections.
- Doesn’t quite have high-end hip flexibility, which can delay rotations on the apex track.
- Lack of elite hip flexibility can impact his quickness when recalibrating base alignment.
- Has enough flexibility to correct his alignment but can be stiff in the torso when sliding.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Banks grades out as a fringe first-round prospect and a contender for the OT1 mantle. As it stands, he’s worthy of top-32 capital, and another season of improvement could vault him farther up the board.
Banks is uniquely built for a tackle prospect. At around 6’4″, 324 pounds, and with arms potentially nearly 35″ long, he’s dense, well-leveraged, and massive. He also has the length and reach to extend past his frame, latch, and widen opposing rushing paths.
Going further, Banks’ combination of length, mass, and elite explosive athleticism grants him overwhelming power capacity, and he also has the raw strength to anchor and absorb opposing forces in both phases. He’s a road-grader in the run game who’s shown he can use synergetic pass-protection technique.
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Despite his status as a two-year starter, there are still areas in which Banks can improve. The Texas tackle can cut down on instances where he ducks his head and lurches past his center of gravity, thus improving his balance and leverage maintenance. Additionally, his hand carriage and footwork on recovery can improve as well.
Past the needed technical improvements, it’s also worth noting that — while Banks is a stellar athlete with explosiveness and good short-area quickness — he’s not the most flexible player. That lack of elite flexibility limits his recovery at times and could eventually fuel a potential move inside to guard.
Nevertheless, Banks has more than enough in his toolbox to survive as a left tackle at the NFL level. And if he can continue to refine his hand usage, synergy, and leverage maintenance, he can be one of the first tackles off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft.