Kansas City Chiefs’ first reported pre-draft visit is with a prospect who is already on star DT Chris Jones’ radar
Florida DT Caleb Banks is the first reported top-30 visit for the Kansas City Chiefs.
With the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in the rearview, the Kansas City Chiefs are taking their next opportunities to evaluate 2026 NFL Draft prospects by scheduling pre-draft top-30 visits.
According to Arye Pulli, the Chiefs are slated to host Florida DT Caleb Banks in Kansas City for a top-30 visit. You might recall that Banks recently caught the attention of Chiefs DT Chris Jones after an interview he gave at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. He told former Tennessee Titans GM Ran Carthon that he models his game after Jones and believes he can be better than him professionally.
“Definitely, after Chris Jones, for sure,” Banks said. “The athleticism that he has. How he carries himself. He’s a dog. I feel like we have similar traits. I’m not there all the way yet, but once I reach the higher end of my ceiling, I’ll be able to go out there and do what I do. I definitely feel like I’ll pass him up a little bit.”
Carthon prompted Jones to respond, and thanks to someone tagging him in a post on X (formerly Twitter), he did.
“Keep at it!” Jones wrote, preceded by two flexing emojis.
What is a top 30 visit?
The “top 30” label refers to 30 allotted pre-draft visits with prospects in the upcoming NFL draft class. Teams will invite these prospects to their facilities for meetings with staff, medical evaluation, and just to generally see if a player will be a fit with the team culture.
The Chiefs often utilize their top-30 visits in multiple ways, but it is becoming more apparent that they reserve several visits for players who weren’t invited to the combine and outperform expectations during their pro day workouts. The visit serves as another touch point with a player they may not have had as much time with during the pre-draft process. That’s not necessarily the case with this particular visit. My guess is that this visit is a medical evaluation, as Banks has dealt with a nagging left-foot injury.
Some players the Chiefs have selected in the past who have had top 30 visits include Josh Simmons, Omarr Norman-Lott, Kingsley Suamataia, Rashee Rice, BJ Thompson, Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, Nick Bolton, and Juan Thornhill. They’ve also added undrafted free agents from the visits, as they did last season with Esa Pole, Melvin Smith, and Brandon George.
How does DT Caleb Banks fit with the Chiefs?
One of the Chiefs’ biggest problems during the 2025 NFL season was their ability to generate pressure and sacks against the quarterback. Their 35 team sacks last season tied for 22nd in the league. It didn’t matter if it was interior pressure or edge pressure; they simply weren’t getting enough of it.
Banks is a bit of a projection at the next level. He boasts all of the physical tools, but he’s still putting it all together. He started his career in Louisville, but didn’t really play much there. However, in three seasons with the Florida Gators, Banks recorded 47 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one pass batted in 27 games played.
He was a standout during workouts at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, earning a 73.2 A to Z Sports Athletic Composite with impressive size/burst scores for his size.
A few of Banks’ struggles right now are similar to those that Chris Jones faced when he was coming into the NFL. Pad level can be a major enemy for a 6-foot-6, 327-pound athlete. He’s still developing his pass-rushing toolkit and is overly reliant on his strength and athleticism at times. As a run defender, he needs an NFL form-tackling clinic.
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