Sheldon Rankins – J.A.G

With the 12th pick in the 2016 draft the New Orleans Saints select………Just A Guy.

It’s not a sexy pick, it’s not an earth shattering pick, it wouldn’t have been my pick, but it’s who Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and the New Orleans Saints decided to choose with seconds to spare at the #12 pick(no one was biting on the trade down). With a plethora of Defensive talent still available at the #12 pick in this year’s draft, the Saints decided to stick to their board and select the 6’1″ 299 lbs Defensive Tackle from Louisville. Now, it may be harsh to call the 22-year-old Rankins Just A Guy(the dreaded J.A.G. moniker used by many NFL scouts) but after watching him get struggle to shed blocks in games against Florida State and Texas A&M it seems fitting. Let’s not get carried away though, the kid has some skills and I will break that down shortly but as a Saints fan that wants to see a Dome Patrol type defense, this was not the pick I wanted to see. Shaq Lawson was right there for the taking. Myles Jack’s 1 good knee was screaming “PICK ME! PICK ME!”, but the Saints said “no joy” and played it safe for the 31st defense in the NFL.

Positives: Rankins is quick at the point of attack. He shows great vision in breaking down the play, always seems to know where the ball is and where it is going. High character guy who has a desire to play football. Opted out of the spotlight during the draft to stay home with family. Will fit in well in the locker room and could develop into a leader along the defensive line. Rankins has football smarts and is the quintessential Sean Payton guy.

Negatives: Doesn’t shed blocks well. He is not a play disruptor in the interior and shows signs of giving up if the play goes away from him. He does not have the ‘mean streak’ one would like in a DT. Does not show elite skills on film and is a run-of-the-mill ‘high floor low ceiling’ prospect. I find him very comparable to Sedrick Ellis who was drafted 1st round in 2008 and didn’t amount to much more than a decent rotational player on a mediocre defense.

I think I’ve made my point. I am disappointed with this pick when there were still options on the board that I graded much better than Rankins. Will he be good? Probably, but he won’t be great unless the parts around him help support his play. The Saints just do not have the defense right now to spend a high first round pick on a supporting cast. They needed a superstar and I still believe Lawson was that guy. With all that said, I am probably wrong and I missed the ONE thing that every media outlet and sports talking figure has seen from Rankins to rank him as the BEST 3-technique DT in this draft. I will say that I like the move to more high character personnel that have been signed in the last 2 years. Give me 11 J.A.G.s on defense that will show up motivated and won’t miss team meetings or plane rides over a couple of elite head cases any day.