We are breaking down the Notre Dame football prospects ahead of the NFL Draft which begins on Thursday, April 29th in Cleveland, Ohio. There will be no NFL Combine this year due to the pandemic. However, Notre Dame will hold its Pro Day on March 31st at 12:00 PM in South Bend.

Next up, a massive guard banking (hey oh) on his potential at the next level carrying him through the draft process.

SPECS

Name: Aaron Banks
Position: OG
Height: 6-5 3/4 (per the Senior Bowl)
Weight: 338 (per the Senior Bowl)
Hometown: Almeda, California

BIO:

Banks was a top 200 player and the no. 17 ranked tackle in the country coming out of the San Francisco Bay area. He took a redshirt for 2017 and showed promise starting the final 6 games of the 2018 season. Banks struggled through some injuries as a redshirt sophomore but played in every game. Still, his NFL stock took a hit heading into 2020. While anchoring the left guard spot, Banks regained his form this past fall and decided to test the waters of the draft with 2 years of eligibility remaining in his college career.

STRENGTHS:

Prototypical NFL size for the guard position. Nimble for his weight, and moves well especially when healthy. A good pulling linemen with decent agility. A premier pass blocking guard. Smart, works well with his teammates. Displays an ability to block well in tight spaces and in short yardage. Very good power overall.

WEAKNESSES:

Nagging injuries slowed him down at times. Will likely need a body transformation at the next level, especially in the upper-body. Run blocking in space will need work against faster and more agile NFL defenders. Tends to play out of control at times and results in holding penalties.

OVERVIEW:

Selfishly, it would’ve been nice to see Aaron Banks return to Notre Dame. Still, he likely made the right decision leaving now. It’s possible he ends up playing tackle in the NFL, especially if he works on his upper-body and re-shapes his body into a more muscular frame. It was also quite possible that he came back to South Bend and played left tackle, thus increasing his profile in the draft.

Nevertheless, as a guard Banks is comfortably within the top 10 at this position which should mean going no later than the 4th round. You could argue his ceiling is really high at the next level, although it’s tough to compare him to someone like Quenton Nelson and predict that type of career.

PREDICTION:

3rd Round, 67th Overall to the Houston Texans

The Texans are old and don’t have much cap space spent on the guard position. If they ever hope to keep Deshaun Watson at quarterback this would seem like a good place to target in the draft. However, due to gross mismanagement, Houston does not have a selection in the first 2 rounds of 2021 so this spot at 67th overall would be their first pick. Will they go guard for their first selection? If not, look for Banks to be a possibility at 100th overall to Houston in the early 4th round.

More Scouting Reports to Come:

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Ade Ogundeji
Ian Book
Robert Hainsey
Liam Eichenberg