Why New Bengals DT Sheldon Rankins Thinks He Can Fill 2 Voids on Defense

CINCINNATI – The signing of Sheldon Rankins to a two-year, $24.5 contract came with a couple of big questions for the Cincinnati Bengals:

Will Rankins be good enough to warrant the Bengals stepping outside of their comfort zone to give that type of contract to a player who turns 30 next month?

And regardless of how Rankins plays as an interior pass rusher, would Cincinnati have been better served using some of that money to sign a run-stuffing defensive tackle to replace DJ Reader?

New Bengals DT Sheldon Rankins Defends His Run-Stopping Ability

Rankins addressed both of those concerns in a lengthy, entertaining, sometimes-profane introductory news conference Monday at Paycor Stadium.

“I felt like I could be something that was missing,” Rankins said. “What I add in terms of leadership, in terms of being able to rush the passer — I know I don’t get too much credit for it, but I feel like I stop the run pretty well. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be a guy that is out there all the time.”

Sheldon on why he chose the Bengals:

1. Feels like home.
2. "We got all the makings to make that kind of run again." 😏 pic.twitter.com/pTjbtJVWTI

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) March 18, 2024

Rankins was a true three-down defensive tackle last season, as he’s been for most of his career. He played 217 snaps on first down, 162 on second, and 188 on third.

But Pro Football Focus ranked Rankins 69th out of 76 qualifying defensive tackles in run-defense grade in 2023.

“There’s always going to be room for me to grow as a run defender, whether it’s leverage, whether it’s use of my hands or a better strike, or what have you,” he said. “I think I can do everything at a high level. If you go back to my last year with the Jets [in 2022], coming off that year, people questioned: Could I rush the passer anymore? Everyone said, ‘Oh he’s a run guy. That’s what he is. He’s a run guy.'”

Rankins was quick to point out that in 2022 in New York, the Jets’ defense ranked 10th in the league by allowing 4.2 yards per carry.

Last year in his first season in Houston, the Texans ranked second in yards per attempt allowed (3.51) and sixth in rushing yards allowed per game (96.6).

“You don’t get this far in the league, you don’t get the opportunities I’ve had to be a guy,” Rankins said before breaking off his thought. “The Jets didn’t have to play me on first, second down. They could have went out and got a big body and all that, but I feel like I play football really well.

“I don’t just rush the passer really well. If you want to line up in 21 personnel, run power, fine, that’s cool, let’s do it. If you want to spread it out and throw it all over the park, just don’t leave me by myself all day; it’s going to be ugly.”

Rankins pointed to his game against the Bengals last year as an example of that, when Cincinnati tried to have right guard Alex Cappa block him 1-on-1 and never adjusted, resulting in Rankins recording three sacks and lamenting the three more he should have had.

He doesn’t see his age-30 season as the beginning of the end of his career. Rankins views it as another six months to hone his craft and boost his knowledge to take another run at setting a career-high in sacks.

KEEP READING: NFL Defense Rankings

That came in 2018 when he had eight with the New Orleans Saints. Rankins recorded six in 2023, with half of them coming on a Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium.

“I feel like I do it all really well at a high level, so I look forward to continuing that trend and to continue to do that over my career,” Rankins said. “I feel like I’m still truly ascending, and I look forward to having a better year than I had last year.”

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