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This guy was with a winning program
so he knows what it looks like.
Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins was with the New Orleans Saints from 2016-20, after entering the league as the 12th pick overall in the 2016 draft out of Louisville.
Aside from the obvious part of winning, having a winning record and making the playoffs a lot, programs that win a lot, generally have a certain kind of culture.
After being with Saints for five seasons, Rankins has a strong feel for what makes winning programs click.
He sees something very positive brewing in Florham Park.
“I’ve watched it grow. I’ve watched guys get more comfortable, you know, offensively, defensively, special teams,” Rankins told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I’ve watched the competition. And I’ve watched what [Robert Saleh] is really trying to breed, and it’s something special.”
One of the most important aspect of a winning program is the players buying in, and that seems to finally be happening at One Jets Drive.
“Everyone’s buying in,” Rankins said. “Everyone’s coming in every day with the mindset of, we’re not just here to, ‘Maybe we’ll do alright this year. Maybe (not).’ No, guys are coming in ready to compete and really take this league by storm. And we’re hoping we can do so.”
The reason there has been in a sea change in the Jets’ clubhouse is the type of players Joe Douglas is adding in the draft and free agency and how Saleh and his staff are coaching them.
Douglas, with a heavy assist from Saleh, isn’t just giving us lip service about finding players with great football character, but sticking to their exacting standards of finding guys who are smart, tough, talented, dedicated to football and not knuckleheads off the field.
And while Rankins isn’t guranteeing a Super Bowl or anything, he knows the Jets are going to compete hard and not roll over for anyone.
“One thing about us, I know we’re going to compete,” Rankins said. “There’s never going to be a game we go into where people are going to cut that game on and be like, ‘Oh, they’re just there. They’re just out there. They’re just out there for a check.’ That’s never going to be a thing with us.”
Now, obviously, you need to get good play from the quarterback position to have success as an NFL team, and that was a big part of the Saints success during Rankins time there, with Drew Brees under center.
None of us know exactly how Zach Wilson is going to turn out. You never know that at the QB position until they play against other teams, in real games, with pass rushers with bad intentions coming after them, and with disguised coveragess across the way, which are often hard to diagnose. Wilson has some very good earmarks with a great arm, quick release, high-level intelligence and tremendous study habits, but the prove will be in the pudding once the real games start.
But it’s pretty clear to Rankins, and other Jets players, whether they are new to the team, or have been there a few years, that things are heading in the right direction under Saleh and Douglas.
Christopher Johnson did a nice job landing these two guys. It wouldn’t have happened without him.
“There is a different vibe in the building,” one long-time Jets employee told me recently.
June 24, 2021
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