Sheldon Rankins is a career quality starter — a pass rusher whose body of work places Rankins in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Rankins's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Snap Counts | Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% | Tgt | Cmp | Cmp% | RateAll | ADOT | Prss | Hrry | QBKD | Bltz | MissTkl | Miss% | |||||
| 2016 | 22 | NO | 9 | — | 17 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4.0 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 335 | 58.4% | — | 0.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 23 | NO | 16 | — | 26 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 2.0 | 16.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 810 | 76.3% | 14 | 3.1% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 24 | NO | 16 | — | 39 | 25 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 8.0 | 35.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 642 | 62.3% | 1 | 0.3% | 6 | 5 | 0.8 | 86.1 | 1.8 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| 2019 | 25 | NO | 10 | — | 10 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 322 | 49.1% | 1 | 0.4% | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 116.7 | -1.0 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 2020 | 26 | NO | 12 | — | 19 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 1.5 | 13.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 415 | 50.8% | 2 | 0.6% | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 39.6 | -4.0 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2021 | 27 | NYJ | 16 | — | 29 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 3.0 | 15.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 641 | 57.1% | 96 | 21.7% | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0.1 |
| 2022 | 28 | NYJ | 15 | — | 39 | 21 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 558 | 54.7% | 31 | 7.9% | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | 29 | HOU | 15 | — | 30 | 22 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 6.0 | 25.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 597 | 59.5% | 19 | 4.3% | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 79.2 | -5.0 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0.1 |
| 2024 | 30 | CIN | 7 | — | 15 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 288 | 60.6% | 16 | 8.9% | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| 2025 | 31 | HOU | 17 | — | 34 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 3.0 | 17.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 623 | 60.0% | 6 | 1.3% | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 79.2 | -2.8 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.1 |
| 2026 | 32 | HOU | 5 | — | 14 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 228 | 69.2% | 3 | 2.4% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 138 | — | 272 | 154 | 118 | 52 | 83 | 35.5 | 170.5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | 13 | — | — | — | 95 | 38 | 28 | 2 | 25 | — | |
Career Value · VORP
122 career value over replacement — #883 all-time of 4,695. 12.2/season above a replacement-level DL.
Pick #12 (Rd 1) · NO · 2016 · +2.5 vs expected KV-H
Fan Rating
Rate Sheldon Rankins — All-Time
Explore More
Similar Players
A quality edge rusher with a top 30% among starters — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Worth 122 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman — top 20% of all 4,695 ranked at the position. 8 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +15.3 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
8 seasons × ~15.3 surplus ≈ VORP 122
Willie Whitehead
NT
91% match