Louis Riddick called Kelvin Banks Jr. a perfect NFL fit, praising Steve Sarkisian’s former OT for his elite blindside protection skills.
Steve Sarkisian’s Draft Star Kelvin Banks Jr. Gets High Praise From Louis Riddick
As Kellen Moore enters his first season in charge of the New Orleans Saints, he’ll have a pretty sturdy offensive tackle to protect his quarterback. The Saints took now-former Texas Longhorns offensive tackle Banks Jr. with the No. 9 overall choice in the 2025 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Riddick believes it was a slam-dunk addition for the Saints.
“If there is anybody that is tailor-made for the pro game to protect the quarterback’s blindside or whatever side you need protected, it’s Kelvin Banks Jr.,” Riddick said in a joint Instagram post with the New Orleans Saints on Friday.
The Saints drafted Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning in the first round in 2022, but he hasn’t panned out like they’d hoped. In 2024, they added Taliese Fuaga with the No. 14 overall choice, then started him at left tackle all 17 games as a rookie. Taking Banks could allow Moore to replace Penning with Fuaga at right tackle as he slots Banks at his natural post.
Banks has played left tackle since his sophomore year of high school, but he said after being drafted that he doesn’t have a preference. He allowed three sacks in 42 starts for the Longhorns.
“I haven’t talked to them about playing, but I’ll play wherever,” Banks said. “If I’m one of the best five (linemen) on the field and they give me an opportunity to start and I earn that right, then I’m going to play wherever they put me. I don’t care. If I’m the best five on the field and it’s at guard, then that’s where I’m playing. I’ve been training on every side.”
“What I’ll do is in my training, I’ll make sure that I do right-side run sets and run-block drills and different things like that, and I’ll switch over to the left side and do that as well.”
Moore is excited about having interchangeable linemen to set the tone for his attack.
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“This is a trenches game, this is a game that is won up front in a lot of ways and obviously, my background has been around that in a lot of places I’ve been and certainly this place is invested in it, and we feel like we can continue to do that,” Moore said. “So we feel like we’re building a strength in that offensive line.”
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