Louisville Defensive End Sheldon Rankins was selected in the 2016 NFL Draft’s 1st Round with the #12 pick by the New Orleans Saints.

Rankins is the 4th highest draft pick ever for Louisville and the highest selection since Amobi Okoye was selected #10 in 2007.

Sheldon was the “IT” player leading up to the draft with publication after publication signing his praises.  Rankins burst onto the scene in Louisville early in his career as a freshman making an impact late in 2012 and made his 1st career sack in the Sugar Bowl.  Rankins made the decision to return for his senior season to gain his degree & to work toward being a 1st Round Selection.

Sheldon is now Louisville Football’s 5th First Round Selection over the past 3 seasons.  The streak began with the 2014 draft when the New York Jets selected Calvin Pryor in the 1st Round. From there Marcus Smith was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles and Teddy Bridgewater was selected by the Minnesota Vikings. Last year the Cards had just one player picked in the 1st 32 when DeVante Parker was taken by the Miami Dolphins with the 14th overall pick.

Rankins is also Louisville’s 15th NFL Draft Selection over the past 3 drafts. 10 Cardinals were taken in last year’s draft and 4 Cardinals were taken in the 2014.

Sheldon’s contact is expected to be worth 4 years & $12.7M that includes a $7.4M signing bonus.

Bobby Petrino statement on Sheldon Rankins: “I’m extremely proud and excited for Sheldon Rankins on his selection this evening,” head coach Bobby Petrino said. “Being a first round pick is a great accomplishment and a much-deserved honor. He has worked so hard to perfect his craft and he is one of the most complete football players I have ever coached. I wish him nothing but success as he makes the jump to the next level, and I thank him for his contributions to our program.”

The following two tabs change content below.
@UofLSheriff50. Louisville native, University of Louisville Business School Grad c/o 2004. Co-Founder of TheCrunchZone.com

TCZ Comments

comments