3 Texas football players bound to be future 1st round NFL Draft picks

Kelvin Banks, OT

Less than half a season into his collegiate career, the former elite five-star recruit, and true freshman offensive tackle Kelvin Banks has proved that he should be a future first-round NFL Draft pick. Banks is already the best pass blocker that Texas has among their starting offensive linemen this season.

And I firmly believe that Banks is the best true freshman offensive tackle in pass pro in the FBS this season. He is well on his way to earning Freshman All-American honors by the season’s end.

The 6-foot-5 and 305-pound Banks has good size and pretty good length that does a nice job protecting the quarterback, no matter who he is matched up against as a pass blocker. In fact, Banks already showed us what he can do against some of the best edge rushers in the entire country when he didn’t allow a single sack or QB hit when matched up against Alabama stars Dallas Turner and Will Anderson in Week 2.

Banks is also very light on his feet and possesses the physical tools needed to succeed right away in the NFL. He stands out as a pulling blocker and flexes his power in tight spaces whether he’s blocking on the edge or coming around to lay the wood on an opposing defender.

Banks does still have some strides he needs to make as a run blocker. He still lacks the physicality and push needed at the point of attack as a run blocker. But he’s already shown some improvement in the last few weeks in terms of his ability to hold the edge for Texas to get the outside zone run game going.

Yet, from what we’ve seen out of Banks so far this fall, he looks the part of a future top 10 pick in the NFL draft.