Kansas City Chiefs Scouting Report: Sheldon Rankins
By Scott Dillon
Both Tamba Hali and Jaye Howard could be leaving the Kansas City Chiefs. Could Sheldon Rankins help fill the holes left by their departure?
Tamba Hali and the Kansas City Chiefs had until March 4th to work out an extension on his contract. Because they weren’t able to come to an agreement at that time, the Chiefs are out four million dollars in cap space for a player that may not even be on the roster.
Jaye Howard is also likely on his way out for the Chiefs. He’s certainly earned his big payday, but the Chiefs may be wise to look elsewhere to fill their needs at defensive tackle. It’s one of the deepest, if not the deepest, classes in the draft this year and would be a far cheaper alternative to re-signing Jaye Howard.
Sheldon Rankins may be just the player to step in and fill any kind of hole left by a Hali and Howard departure. CBS Sports has Sheldon Rankins ranked as their second best defensive tackle and their 16th best player overall. If he falls to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 28th pick of the draft, they may be wise to take him.
Combine Results
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- 40-yard dash – 5.03 seconds
- Bench press – 28 reps
- Vertical jump – 34.5 inches
- Broad jump – 118.0 inch
- 3-cone drill – 7.44 seconds
- 20-yard shuttle – 4.59 seconds
Combine results courtesy of NFL.com
CBSSports.com had the following to say about this NFL prospect:
"Rankins is one of the better run defenders in this draft class and continues to grow as a pass rusher. He entered Senior Bowl week with first-round grades and he only helped himself there with a dominating week."
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Sheldon Rankins is a very versatile player in spite of his smaller size. While his primary position is at defensive tackle, he also spent some time playing defensive end. That kind of versatility and adaptability could go a long way towards providing depth on the defensive line.
Rankins recorded 111 tackles in his final two seasons at Louisville including 26.5 tackles for a loss. He was also responsible for 14 sacks across his junior and senior seasons.
While losing Tamba Hali and Jaye Howard could hurt the Chiefs in the short term, Rankins could be a nice long term addition to the roster. Like any rookie on the defensive line, he’s likely to experience some growing pains. With Dontari Poe by his side though, Rankins may get the benefit of some easier match-ups at least to start.
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His strength against the run should play nicely for the Kansas City Chiefs. It also helps them replace the production of Mike DeVito should he depart in that his strength is against the run. If he can continue to play the run effectively and put some pressure on the quarterback, Rankins could turn into a very solid player for the Chiefs. He won’t be flashy, but the Chiefs don’t need flashy, they need reliable.
Would you want the KC Chiefs to select Sheldon Rankins in the 2016 NFL Draft? Will he even be available for the Chiefs to select?