The 2026 Senior Bowl is in the books and with it, teams around the league are starting to develop draft crushes. For the LA Chargers, one surprising name is already making the rounds: Caleb Banks.
Jim Harbaugh was seen gushing over Banks' incredible reps during the Senior Bowl, instantly making the Florida defensive lineman a potential target in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Of course, Banks can only be a target if he even lasts until the Bolts are on the clock with the No. 22 pick.
Banks' stock is undoubtedly on the rise after the Senior Bowl, and it could even carry him all the way into the top 10. Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports certainly thinks Banks can catapult into the top 10 as he projects the Kansas City Chiefs to draft the Gator with the No. 9 pick in his post-Senior Bowl mock.
"At 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds with 35-inch arms, Banks is surprisingly explosive for his size, playing with power, juice and a nonstop motor," Wilson writes.
"A foot injury sidelined him for parts of the 2025 season, but he took part in all three Senior Bowl practices and was pretty much unblockable on every rep. If he's fully healthy, he has top-10 ability."
Chiefs keep Caleb Banks away from the Chargers in CBS Sports' mock draft
It would be rather ironic if the Chiefs end up with the latest Chargers draft crush. And while it might be devastating to some, this would actually be an okay outcome for the Bolts.
Kansas City will always be terrifying because of the offensive ceiling with Patrick Mahomes under center and Andy Reid as the play-caller. The last thing the Chargers need is for the Chiefs to stumble into another great offensive player, which doesn't happen in this mock draft.
That's not to say the Chiefs won't find a dynamic player later in the draft, but this is better than Kansas City ending up with Jeremyiah Love or one of the dynamic receivers at the top of this year's class.
Ironically enough, the Chargers also end up taking a player who might be more impactful in this mock. Wilson has the Chargers taking Penn State's Olaivavega Ioane, who is arguably the best guard in the class.
There isn't a contender in the league that has a bigger need than the Chargers' need for offensive line help. Ioane would be an excellent addition to Mike McDaniel's offense and would provide a huge step in the right direction to fixing the offensive line.
Banks is an exciting player, but defensive line help doesn't move the needle in the same way offensive line help does. So while it would be ironic for the Chiefs to take Banks, it wouldn't actually be that detrimental to the Chargers.
Assuming the team nails the No. 22 pick, of course.