New Orleans Saints selects Sheldon Rankins

With the No. 12 pick in the NFL Draft, New Orleans Saints selected Sheldon Rankins

Sheldon Rankins is a 6’1″ 299 pound interior defensive lineman from the University of Louisville. Rankins is only a two-year starter, but in his two years combined for 26.5 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks. Rankins is regarded as one of the top defensive lineman in this draft class.

What make Rankins a player in high demand is his force and ability to penetrate to make those tackles for loss.  In the Louisville 3-4 defense, he played at the nose tackle position and on the defensive ends which gives him strong versatility. The versatility takes little to nothing away from his power as he has shown to destroy guards and tackles at his time in Louisville.

Despite two years of big time production, some have questions as to where he will line up best due to the moving around in college. Rankins is a bit undersized for a prototypical nose tackle, and some wonder if he will even be big enough to be a defensive tackle in the 4-3, or if he is truly just better off in the 3-4 as a defensive end.

However, with his ability to win with power, and his lower body strength being able to hold down the point of attack, there is a good chance he can fit in any scheme and multiple personell teams should see him as extremely valuable.

For more NFL Draft news, be sure to check out our NFL Draft hub page.