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With the 2023 NFL Draft fast approaching, teams hope to not have another Tony Banks in their midst. He was one of the most promising players leading into the 1996 draft. Unfortunately, he did not live up to the hype, playing for four teams in 10 seasons.
His story is a cautionary tale of how luck plays a big role in each pick. Banks did have the quarterback talent to become an NFL star, but couldn’t get his act together. Unfortunately, he only comes into the conversation as one of the biggest “what ifs” in football.
Tony Banks: Right Place, Right Time
Yes, the former Michigan State standout won Super Bowl XXXV with the Baltimore Ravens. However, he was Trent Dilfer’s backup in that game. Banks did have one incompletion, but it was Dilfer who played most of the snaps.
But while they were members of that championship team, much of the credit went to their stifling defense. Ray Lewis and company limited the New York Giants to seven points and 152 total yards.
A Super Bowl victory isn’t Tony Banks’ defining moment. Instead, he was lucky to be with a defense that did not allow opponents to score a lot. He also lost his starting quarterback role to Dilfer after the Baltimore offense failed to convert a touchdown for a month. He finished the 2000 season with 1,578 yards, eight touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
Unfortunately, those numbers weren’t an exception because that’s how he performed every year. In his rookie year with the St. Louis Rams, he threw for 15 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. A year later, he had 14 TDs and 13 picks. He had a better touchdown-interception ratio in 1999, 17-8. But despite that slight improvement, he was an inconsistent thrower.
Tony Banks never had a completion percentage of at least 60 in each season he played. The closest he got was 59.8 percent in 2003 as a quarterback for the Houston Texans.
Despite his struggles, he still suited up for two more seasons before being out of the league at age 32. He finished his NFL career with a 54.2 percent completion percentage, to go with 15,315 passing yards, 77 touchdowns, and 73 interceptions. He also played for the then-Washington Redskins aside from the Rams, Ravens, and Texans.
How Good Was Tony Banks in College?
He came off the board in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft because of the shallow quarterback class that year. Banks was the first play-caller selected, even if his numbers were not that impressive. While he is among the record-holders at Michigan State, he still had 11 touchdowns and six interceptions in his first year with the Spartans.
In 1995, he had nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Meanwhile, his completion percentage in both years was barely above 60 percent (60.9 and 60.5, respectively). Adding insult to his collegiate career was their 0-11 record in 1994. Not that they were not good, but that was the result of forfeiting their wins due to major violations.
Considering those numbers, it’s shocking that he heard his name that early. But it was a weak class altogether because only Danny Kanell had a better career than him out of the seven quarterbacks taken. Hence, may the story of Tony Banks remind NFL general managers and scouts about proper talent assessment. Like him, these players are more than just highlights and stats.
