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NFL Draft Results 2016: Saints Select Sheldon Rankins in First Round

The Saints have shocked nobody by drafting Louisville DT Sheldon Rankins with their first round draft pick.

By Dave Cariello
Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Saints have selected Sheldon Rankins from Louisville with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft and taken another step toward improving their pass rush.

Picking Rankins should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, considering he was mocked to the Saints by almost every mock draft over the last month.

At 6'1" 300-pounds, Rankins played almost everyone along the defensive line during his time at Louisville, but he should excel as a three-technique in a 4-3 defense or pass-rushing nose tackle. He is often compared to Rams DT Aaron Donald.

Is it an exciting pick? Hardly. The Saints could have taken DE Shaq Lawson, who was still available at the time the Saints were on the clock. But Rankins is a safe bet considering his play on the field and his quality character off the field.

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Saints 2016 NFL Draft Picks

Round Pick Overall Player
1 12 12 Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville
2 16 47
3 15 78
4 14 112
5 13 152
7 16 237

Saints Team Needs

  • Defensive End
  • Defensive Tackle
  • Linebacker
  • Guard
  • Wide Receiver
  • Cornerback

Saints Draft Resources

NFL Draft Schedule

Thursday, April 28 - 7:00 p.m. CT (Round 1 - 10 Minutes Per Pick)

Friday, April 29 - 6 p.m. CT (Round 2 - 7 Minutes, Round 3 - 5 Minutes Per Pick)

Saturday, April 30  - 11 a.m. CT (Rounds 4-6 - 5 Minutes Per Pick, Round 7 - 4 Minutes Per Pick)

NFL Network and ESPN/ESPN2 will televise the draft.

Live Draft Tracker

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