Who Is Kelvin Banks Jr.? Why Saints Turned To Texas Star

The Saints made a somewhat surprising move on Thursday night...

Oct 30, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; General view of the New Orleans Saints logo as the midfield logo fleur-de-lis after the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Las Vegas Raiders at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

As we approached the National Football League Draft, mock drafts dropped left and right about who the franchise could select if they didn't make a trade.

New Orleans didn't make a trade, but the vast majority of mock drafts got the selection wrong. New Orleans was tied to a handful of guys including Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart, Mykel Williams, Tyler Warren, and a few guys who were off the board like Ashton Jeanty and Tetairoa McMillan. One guy whose name wasn't brought up was Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. but he was the team's selection on Thursday night at No. 9.

So, why did the Saints pick him over a quarterback or offensive playmaker? Well, you have to look to the 2024 seaosn for that. New Orlean's offensive line was decimated by injuries and was ranked in the lower third in the entire league. It doesn't necessarily matter who is under center at quarterback if they don't have time to make a decision.

That's what Banks will help with. He was ranked as the No. 4 offensive tackle in this draft class by ESPN heading into the draft. He was the third offensive lineman off the board and got a lot of buzz overall over the last few days heading into the draft. He has great size at 6'5'' and 315 pounds and was an All-American in 2024 with Texas.

Overall, he played three years with Texas and had an 86.2 overall grade by Pro Football Focus in 2024. That would've been one of the top grades in the NFL last year if he was in the league. Jordan Mailata led offensive tackles with a 95.2 grade followed by Rashawn Slater at 90.9 and Penei Sewell at 89.6. It's not a sexy pick, but it's a good one to secure the trenches.

More NFL: Saints Shocker: New Orleans Turns Heads With No. 9 Pick