New York Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins is an interesting component in the team’s future. Despite a lackluster 2021 season, he has a chance to be one of the team’s biggest reasons for success in 2022.
Analyzing Rankins got me thinking on a broader level about some of our flaws as a football community when it comes to projecting the future outlook of NFL teams.
Forgive me for the long-winded pondering that’s to come – I promise this will all circle back to Rankins. His current status exemplifies some important things about team development in the NFL and I wanted to use him as an avenue to discuss them.