Dein erstes Forum » New Orleans Saints DT Sheldon Rankins

Primed for a Breakout For the first time in the Sean Payton Era www.authenticsneworleanssaints.com , the New Orleans Saints could actually field a defense that strikes fear in opposing offenses. They have a young and talented secondary and have made efforts to improve their front seven with the offseason additions of Demario Davis in free agency and Marcus Davenport in the draft.While 2017 Defense Rookie of the Year CB Marshon Lattimore and (finally-)Pro Bowl DE Cameron Jordan might be the most talked about players on the Saints defense, it’s actually DT Sheldon Rankins that Bleacher Report has named as the Saints’ biggest breakout candidate:NFL.com has even recognized that Rankins is posed to take more of a leadership role on the Saints defense. Check out this self-aware quote from Rankins to NFL.com:He’s not wrong. While Rankins finished with a pretty quiet stat line in 2017 (26 total tackles and 2 sacks), he graded out as an above-average Defensive Tackle according to Pro Football Focus. He also added this interception to highlight his year:A returning Alex Okafor and the addition of Marcus Davenport on the defensive line should help Sheldon Rankins generate more pressure in the interior, and Rankins take a big step forward in 2018, watch out.Saints rank 3rd in ESPN’s NFL Future Power Rankings It’s almost crazy how much the New Orleans Saints are getting love after a rather successful 2017 campaign. Of course, it wasn’t just one season that went into a big rebuild that stretched across three straight 7-9 seasons from 2014-2016. However, last season’s draft class hit in a major way, and was a big reason why the black and gold were able to get back into the postseason and win the NFC South.Recently, a panel of three ESPN analysts (Louis Riddick, Field Yates New Orleans Saints T-Shirt , and Mike Sando) projected which NFL franchises were in the best shape for the next three years. The metrics included the team’s roster (which excluded quarterback), quarterback, draft, front office, and coaching. New Orleans came in third. You can view the original article here, which requires ESPN Insider.ESPNObviously, the front office rating wasn’t favorable, but some major progress has been made to help shape the Saints roster. Hitting on nearly all of their 2017 draft picks, with major contributions from Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore New Orleans Saints Hats , Ryan Ramczyk, and Marcus Williams made believers out of many. However, going back to the year before, the class of Sheldon Rankins, Michael Thomas, Vonn Bell, and David Onyemata can’t be ignored either. Drew Brees is arguably the most important cog in the wheel here for New Orleans. One side note, it’s also interesting to see that ESPN Staff Writer Dan Graziano threw out a prediction of Brees retiring after the 2018 season several days ago. As long as Brees continues performing at a high level, he should be fine. Now is the time for the Saints to make a deep postseason run.