Saints’ Kelvin Banks Jr. Reveals Key Focus After Impressive Rookie Season

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New Orleans Saints left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is entering his second NFL season after an impressive rookie campaign.

Drafted ninth overall by the Saints, the 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman became just the third Saints left tackle since 1978 to start every game at the position, earning consensus All-Rookie honors and a spot on the 2025 PFWA All-Rookie Team.

Banks allowed only five sacks and three accepted penalties across 681 pass-blocking snaps while ranking second among all rookie linemen in run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.

Banks knows exactly where he wants to improve entering his second NFL season: consistency.

“Honestly, for me, it was more consistency because it'll be multitude of reps,” Banks said. "I'm looking flawless, taking the great set, doing this and that, and— and looking good. And it'll be that one or two reps where it's like, 'Oh, dang.' You know what I'm saying? Just making sure I clean the small mistakes up that I may be making throughout the game, whether it's getting fatigued or just not fully thinking throughout the play and just going out there and playing. So just small stuff like that is what I kind of took away from last year.”

Now, Banks is looking to clean up those small mistakes, build on his strong debut and help lead the Saints to an NFC South title and their first playoff berth since 2020.

On continuing to get better alongside Taliese Fuaga

Banks’ development is also tied to the growth of fellow offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga. With a full season together under their belts, the two young tackles are pushing each other to take another step, and Banks believes their shared work ethic could help them develop into one of the NFL’s top tackle duos.

“I mean, we literally just got done on the field after practice,” Banks said after the session on Aug. 6. “We were out there for an extra 30 minutes doing extra different sets and working different stuff that we may have slipped up on in practice. So I'll say that's the thing that excites me the most because I know how bad we want to be one of the best tackle duos in the league. So (it's) that eagerness to understand that we both have that same mindset.”

Fuaga, who played left tackle in 2024, started 13 games at right tackle for New Orleans in 2025.

Adding veteran offensive lineman David Edwards will also Help Banks Grow

While Banks and Fuaga give the Saints a young foundation at tackle, veteran David Edwards has brought another element to the offensive line room at guard.

Edwards, who is entering his eighth season in the league, has started 77 of the 103 games he played for the Los Angeles Rams (2019-2022) and Buffalo Bills (2022-2025), two of the league’s best teams. He was a starter for the Rams when they won Super Bowl LVI.

Banks believes Edwards’ experience, intelligence and personality have allowed him to quickly fit in with the group.

“He's brought a lot. Savviness, smarts, laughter,” Banks said. He's bringing everything to the room. I mean, he's definitely a guy who fits in well with our scheme and let alone not just our scheme, but our OLI room as a whole. So he's been a great piece to our puzzle, for sure.

Training Camp Schedule

Here's the practice schedule for the week:

- Tuesday, 9:00-10:35 a.m., Pads (Closed)
- Wednesday, 9:00-10:15 a.m., Helmets (Closed)
- Thursday, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Pads (SOLD OUT)
- Friday, TBD, Walk-Thru (Closed)\
- Saturday, Saints vs. Jaguars, 3:00 p.m., Superdome

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