Why Signing Sheldon Rankins Is a Step Outside the Cincinnati Bengals’ Comfort Zone

CINCINNATI – After taking a run at Sheldon Rankins in each of the last two offseasons, the Cincinnati Bengals have landed the defensive tackle, Pro Football Network can confirm.

The Bengals are signing Rankins for a reported two years and $26 million.

Defensive tackle was Cincinnati’s biggest need heading into the offseason with DJ Reader heading into free agency and not much quality depth on the roster behind B.J. Hill.

Cincinnati Bengals Sign DT Sheldon Rankins

The Bengals are stepping outside of their comfort zone a little bit by signing Rankins, who turns 30 next month. They have avoided signing free agents on the wrong side of 30 since giving massive extensions to aging defensive linemen Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins in 2018 and not getting much of a return on the investment.

But Rankins, a 2016 first-round pick (No. 12), is coming off an age-29 season in which he recorded six sacks, his most since 2018, along with a fumble return for a touchdown while playing for the Houston Texans.

Sheldon Rankins Fumble Return TD (1) pic.twitter.com/EylGKomAba

— NFL TD Videos (@NFLTDVideos2023) December 31, 2023

Three of Rankins’ sacks last year came in the Week 12 game against Joe Burrow and the Bengals, a 30-27 Houston win.

Rankins had a season-high six tackles and a sack against Cincinnati in a 27-12 loss in 2022 when he was playing with the New York Jets. He had two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit in the Jets’ 34-31 upset of Cincinnati in 2021.

He also had a sack in Cincinnati in 2018 while playing with the New Orleans Saints, giving him five sacks in four career games against the Bengals.

But as good as Rankins has been at getting to the passer, he hasn’t been strong against the rush, which is what the Cincinnati defense needs most with the expected loss of Reader, one of the best run-stuffers in the league.

“That’s a position that you’re always adding youth and strength at,” Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last month. “Whether it’s free agency or the draft, that stuff will all be played out. I think it’s something that you’re always adding to.

“Trey [Hendrickson] is always going to have a bunch of sacks,” Anarumo added. “That inside pressure is always going to force it back to those guys and make it even easier. Our division in particular, when you have a presence inside, when a lot of those quarterbacks like to scramble that can maybe make that a little bit tougher for them as well. We are always looking for them.”

Of the 76 tackles who had at least 215 snaps against the run in 2023, Rankins came in 69th on Pro Football Focus’ grading scale. Reader was eighth.

Rankins’ missed tackle percentage of 19.2 was the second highest in the league.

But the University of Louisville product hasn’t been historically bad against the run. His missed tackle percentage in 2022 was just 7.3, good for 31st among defensive tackles. Hill led the league by not missing any tackles on 304 run snaps.

The Bengals may not be finished addressing the position in free agency. They could turn to a cheaper run-stopping specialist to pair with Rankins, and they also could target one early in next month’s draft.

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“You look at the teams that go far, obviously great quarterbacks, but dominant defensive lines are kind of a theme,” Anarumo said. “The more the merrier. If we add to the D-line, D-tackles, I’d be a happy guy.”

Grade: A-

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