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It only took two meetings for the New Orleans Saints to decide they should draft Kelvin Banks Jr., if given the opportunity. There was no need to fly him into town for a lengthy interview behind closed doors on one of the "top 30 visits" we write so much about. Banks told reporters Thursday night that while he felt the Saints were a team that could draft him, they weren't a squad that he'd had extensive contact with.
Banks recalled a quick formal interview with the Saints at the NFL Scouting Combine as his first impression of the team and head coach Kellen Moore. These tightly-restricted meetings last about 20 minutes and don't give either side much time to do more than just that -- make a first impression. And Banks aced that test. He drew up some plays on the whiteboard and talked shop with Moore. After that, Banks didn't hear from the Saints again until his pro day.
Moore was there, too, having flown into Austin on Gayle Benson's private jet with an entourage of Saints decision-makers like assistant general manager Jeff Ireland. Several position coaches were in attendance, too, including offensive line coach Brendan Nugent (who returned to the Saints after having been dismissed by ex-head coach Dennis Allen). Nugent ran a drill with Banks at his pro day workout and the team called it a day. A few weeks later they turned in the card with Banks' name on it.
This goes to show how differently teams use those official 30 visits. Sometimes, they tip their hand (the Dallas Cowboys, for example, are notorious for this). Other times they use these visits on players with questions to answer. That Banks wasn't one of them says how confident the Saints were in their evaluation of him and the impression he made in those two brief meetings. Now he gets to prove that confidence was justified.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Saints picked Kelvin Banks Jr. after just two meetings
Continue reading...
Banks recalled a quick formal interview with the Saints at the NFL Scouting Combine as his first impression of the team and head coach Kellen Moore. These tightly-restricted meetings last about 20 minutes and don't give either side much time to do more than just that -- make a first impression. And Banks aced that test. He drew up some plays on the whiteboard and talked shop with Moore. After that, Banks didn't hear from the Saints again until his pro day.
Moore was there, too, having flown into Austin on Gayle Benson's private jet with an entourage of Saints decision-makers like assistant general manager Jeff Ireland. Several position coaches were in attendance, too, including offensive line coach Brendan Nugent (who returned to the Saints after having been dismissed by ex-head coach Dennis Allen). Nugent ran a drill with Banks at his pro day workout and the team called it a day. A few weeks later they turned in the card with Banks' name on it.
This goes to show how differently teams use those official 30 visits. Sometimes, they tip their hand (the Dallas Cowboys, for example, are notorious for this). Other times they use these visits on players with questions to answer. That Banks wasn't one of them says how confident the Saints were in their evaluation of him and the impression he made in those two brief meetings. Now he gets to prove that confidence was justified.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Saints picked Kelvin Banks Jr. after just two meetings
Continue reading...
