Triplett: Sheldon Rankins shedding 'Chris Paul' label as he piles up sacks

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Last year, when Rankins had only two sacks in 16 games, his teammates lovingly praised/teased him as their version of Paul because he was making "assist after assist after assist" by helping to steer quarterbacks into their paths.

"I'm still Chris Paul," Rankins said. "But at times James Harden's sitting on the bench and I gotta go get 40 sometimes."

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Rankins is tied for the team lead with six sacks and 10 quarterback hits, and he is tied for second with eight tackles for loss. He is also a big part of why the Saints rank second in the NFL in allowing just 77.9 rushing yards per game.

Defensive end Cameron Jordan, who was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time last season with a career-high 13 sacks, has been the biggest beneficiary of all those assists from Rankins. And Jordan has always been quick to praise Rankins for everything he does that doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

Not only does Rankins create pressure up the middle, but Jordan said Rankins is also the brains of the defensive line operation -- often calling out third-down rushes, etc., based on what he is seeing.

When Jordan was asked if Rankins is no longer Chris Paul, he said, "I need him to just be him. He's been elite in my mind."

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Where Rankins has changed the most this year, though, is that he said he has gone back to relying on his power more than just his athleticism.

"For me, I'm like an athlete first. So being able to beat a guy on the edge or spin or with quickness is something I'm always working on, I'm always trying to perfect. But at times over the last couple years, I've gotten so caught up in that, I haven't used as much power as I needed to do," Rankins said. "I think it's something I used a good bit in college. But I think I worked so much on working edges the last couple years, trying to beat guys around the corner, trying to win that way ... that I abandoned at times the fact that I was strong, I was powerful.

"And being able to kind of incorporate that back into my rush has pretty much opened the door for me ... to kind of set up those speed rushes, those finesse rushes."

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