Caleb Banks Injury News Could Be Bad News for the Falcons Draft Target

The Atlanta Falcons may have just been handed a bit of bad news.

With the NFL Draft set to get started on Thursday, rumors are set to swirl as teams put their final touches on their boards. As we hit this period, there is sure to be plenty of smoke and speculation around various players, but agents are also ensuring their clients get framed in the best possible light.

That is precisely what just occurred with one potential target for Ian Cunningham and the Falcons at pick 48. Caleb Banks, an interior defensive lineman for the Florida Gators, received some positive news about the status of an injury that largely held him out of workouts at the NFL Combine and his subsequent pro day.

The defender is continuing his recovery from a surgically repaired bone in his left foot that he injured ahead of the Combine, but according to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Banks is on schedule.

“NFL teams received a letter today about Caleb Banks as he recovers from a surgically repaired bone in his left foot,” Thamel said. “Per ESPN sources, the letter states that after a CT scan on Tuesday, Banks is ‘on pace to be fully cleared for full football activities in early June.’”

The foot injury was the same one that held him out for most of his final season in Gainesville (he played in just three games), and his re-aggravation raised concerns heading into the draft about what his health could be like in the NFL. Those worries led the player, whom many perceive as a first-round talent, to drop to the Falcons’ grasp in the second round in several mock drafts.

This update could push him up on other teams’ boards and potentially out of their reach.

Should Banks slip to the back of the first round, or even into the early parts of the second round, then a trade-up should still be considered unlikely for the Falcons. Cunningham inferred on Monday that the option could theoretically be on the table, but their limited draft capital will limit that capacity.

Banks, 23, was a three-year starter for the Gators, but his size and athleticism provide NFL teams with reason to get excited. He has a rare combination of size (6-foot-6, 327 pounds), power, and twitch that makes him a tantalizing prospect for teams like the Falcons.

Now, the Falcons might be left thinking about what could have been.

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