- With the 12th pick overall, New Orleans selected Louisville DT Sheldon Rankins with the franchise's 50th all-time first round draft choice.
- Rankins is the 12th defensive lineman selected by New Orleans in the first round all-time.
- Rankins is the second Saint selected in the first round out of Louisville, joining DE Joe Johnson (1994 – 13th overall). He's the fourth Saint selected from Louisville overall, the first since CB Johnny Patrick, who was selected in the third round in 2011.
- This is the second time New Orleans has made a selection with the 12th overall pick in the NFL Draft, selecting T Stan Brock 12th overall in 1980.
- Rankins is the fourth-highest pick all-time to come out of Louisville, behind Ken Kortas (No. 9 – St. Louis Cardinals, 1964), Amobi Okoye (No. 10 – Houston Texans, 2007) and Lenny Lyles (No. 11 – Baltimore Colts, 1958).
- The 6-2, 305-pound Rankins played in 46 career games at Louisville and totaled 133 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss and 18 sacks.
- As a senior in 2015, Rankins earned second-team All-ACC honors after recording 58 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, six sacks, one pass defensed and a fumble recovery returned 46 yards for a touchdown against Boston College.
- As a junior in 2014, Rankins was a third-team all-conference selection, recording 53 tackles, eight sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss and a pair of interceptions.
- A native of Covington, Ga., the same hometown as former Saints wideout Jake Reed, Rankins prepped at Eastside High School, where he recorded 50 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks as a senior.
New Orleans Saints photos from the first day of the 2016 NFL Draft at the team's facility. Photos by Michael C. Hebert.
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