Saints’ Sheldon Rankins To Debut This Week?

Finally, we could be on the verge of seeing Sheldon Rankins‘ NFL debut. Saints coach Sean Payton tells reporters that he anticipates Rankins playing this week, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Sheldon Rankins (vertical)

Rankins, the Saints’ first-round pick in this year’s draft, has yet to take the field after suffering a broken fibula in the summer. Initially, the word was that Rankins would be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks starting in late August. However, the Saints played it safe with the young defensive lineman, pushing his debut off until November.

As a senior at Louisville, Rankins totaled 58 tackles with 13 sacks for a loss and six sacks. The No. 12 overall pick was a popular choice in Defensive Rookie of the Year predictions and while he may not have enough time to win the award this year, he could have a major impact on New Orleans’ D-Line. So far this year, New Orleans has given up the fifth-most yards per game (397.4) to opposing offenses.

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