Sheldon Rankins said he dropped into coverage about five times during his four-year career at Louisville.
Since joining the New Orleans Saints, the defensive tackle has done it a bit more, but none of the other plays were as memorable as when he did it late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With 41 seconds remaining, the Steelers were driving for a chance to tie or take the lead. It was first-and-10, and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger connected with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Then, Rankins tackled Smith-Schuster while knocking the ball free, and when Saints linebacker Demario Davis recovered it, the Saints sealed the victory.
“Oh man, he’s special,” Davis said of Rankins. “That’s an athlete right there. He’s an athlete able to put pressure on the quarterback, great in the run game, and then we have to have him drop a lot and he’s able to match up.”
On the play, the Saints had four down linemen, but they rushed just three as Rankins immediately retreated to the middle of the defense to cover part of a zone. Smith-Schuster caught the ball with Rankins in front of him, and the big man made the key play.
“That was great, man,” Saints nose tackle Tyeler Davison said. “He’s too athletic. You could put him back there in coverage. He could go rush the passer. That was a huge play, one of his biggest plays of the year, man.”
With game on the line, Saints defense made the biggest play
Rankins has had a marvelous third season for the Saints as he now has 39 tackles, 12 for loss, eight sacks and a forced fumble. He also has a pass breakup, which he made when he dropped into coverage against the Buccaneers in Week 14.
Saints coach Sean Payton spoke at length Sunday night about the origins and benefits of having a lineman drop into coverage. As a young college coach, Payton said he remembers taking a visit to the Steelers around 1993 or 1994, and he credited former Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau for starting the concept. On that trip, Payton said former Steelers offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt put up a defensive scheme with a linemen dropping, and Payton and the other college coaches were in awe because it was “troublesome.”
“The very first time the two linebackers came and the end dropped it was like we split the atom,” Payton said.
LeBeau’s method has become commonplace in the NFL, but Rankins said there are still advantages to having a lineman drop into coverage because quarterbacks might not recognize it. That wasn’t the case on Sunday as Rankins made a tackle as opposed to breaking up a pass, but Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore was still impressed.
“Sheldon got a little sauce to him, man. I love it,” Lattimore said.
After the game, a reporter made a joke about Rankins being like a cornerback, and he appreciated the thought.
“If I was 100 pounds lighter, I could be a corner,” he said.
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