Keshawn Banks enters the NFL with a ton of starting experience under his belt (4 seasons – 47 starts) and has just seen a ton of ball. The problem with Banks is that he’s a bit too slow to be a speed rusher and a bit too small to be a power rusher. He’s a little bit of a tweener, in that sense, that he has no real place. That being said, he should be a good pro and can get into a rotational role somewhere as he develops his arsenal. 

There is some upside to Banks’ game, but it’s going to depend on what he wants to do with his career. He has some decisions – focus on speed or becoming a power rusher. There’s some work to be done to make him a fine finesse player too, but it’s all on him to decide what he wants to be. When he gets there, he might be a low-end starter, but that seems to be best case scenario. 

He understood the assignment. @keshawn_banks with a BIG TFL.#Win22 | #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/rKXnSOnG4X

— San Diego State Football (@AztecFB) September 18, 2021

He’s not missed a game in his entire career, a remarkable achievement.

Keshawn Banks’ scouting report

Athletic Ability (45)

Speed/Athleticism: 20 

• Speed (4/7) – Average speed for the position group. Doesn’t look like he has enough to get into the quarterback on a speed rush consistently. 
• Lateral Quickness (5.5/7) – Decent lateral quickness. Really does a good job slanting and using his lateral ability to hit gaps he’s not lined up in effectively. 
• Body Control (4.5/6) – Shows solid body control consistently. Has a wide variety of moves he can use to set up lineman before his set. 

Burst: 10 

• First Step Quickness (3.5/5) – Solid first step burst. Brings a good bit of power with his quickness.
• Explosion (4/5) – Has some serious explosion in his step. 

Power/Strength: 15 

• Upper Body Strength (4/6) – Shows good upper body strength. 
• Lower Body Strength (4/6) – Good lower body. Still has a little room to fill out, but his lower body works well to generate some power and explosion. 
• Pure Brute Strength (1.5/3) – Not really a brute, won’t bully people around. Flashes good power. 

Pass Rushing Mechanics (25)

Bend: 10 

• Balance (2/5) – Balance is underwhelming. Struggles to keep his feet sometimes. 
• Bend (1.5/5) – Doesn’t show me the bend that I need to see from him. Looks like he’s relatively stiff and can’t really get low. 

Finesse: 15 

• Hand Usage (3/5) – Decent hand usage, not great all the time but flashes some good usage. Has a plan going into reps. 
• Hand Strength (2.5/5) – Flashes solid hand strength but doesn’t show it on a play-to-play consistency level. 
• Hand Placement (2/5) – Hand placement is not great. Get’s lucky sometimes and lands good punches and strikes, but overall isn’t good with his placement. 

Defender Ability (26) 

Tackling/Pursuit: 16

• Tackling Ability (3/6) – Struggles to work off of blocks and attack the ball carrier to wrap up. Can make those stops but really does struggle against speed. Missed 19.1% of tackle opportunities, per PFF.
• Space Defending (3/5) – Typically does a good job as a contain defender. Has to learn to stay true to his force assignment. Looks like he’s too hesitant to be effective in space – doesn’t close as well as he should. 
• Pursuit Angles (2.5/5) – Can struggle with pursuit angles, especially when he’s dealing with speed. 

Motor/Consistency: 10 

• Motor (3/5) – Good motor through plays.
• Consistent Motor (4/5) – Consistently running. Doesn’t take plays off. Wants to make those impact plays. 

Overall: (68) – 6th/7th round pick