Following his senior season in 2012, he won the Jim Thorpe Award for the top defensive back in college football.

He was the sixth cornerback taken in the 2013 NFL draft behind Dee Milliner, D. J. Hayden, Desmond Trufant, Xavier Rhodes, and fellow college teammate Darius Slay, respectively.

[4][5] After training camp and the preseason, Banks was named the starting cornerback opposite Alterraun Verner.

The Tampa 2 system installed by head coach Lovie Smith proved to play to Banks' strengths as he notched 50 tackles, 10 passes defensed, and four interceptions for the 2014 season.

On November 1, 2016, Banks was traded to the Detroit Lions for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2018 NFL draft.