METAIRIE, La. -- It's hard to expect too much from rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins in his first NFL game Sunday.
But he has sure made his presence felt during his first week of full-team drills in New Orleans Saints practice.
"I know this, the guys on the scout team today were like, 'Sheldon's back,'" Saints offensive tackle Zach Strief said. "That's a good sign."
Rankins, the 12th pick in this year's draft, will play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers after beginning the year on injured reserve with a broken fibula suffered during training camp.
"He's basically picked up right where he left off," said guard Tim Lelito -- one of those scout-team linemen. "To come back the way he has within the amount of time ... and to have as much strength as he has is really incredible right now.
"There's a reason why he was a first-round draft pick, honestly. He's quick, he's strong, got great hands, can flip his hips really well. So I'm excited to hopefully see him out there in some live situations."
Asked if the 6-foot-2, 305-pounder will put stress on the front of the pocket, Lelito laughed.
"Absolutely. He can put stress anywhere. The front of the pocket, the side of the pocket. Wherever you want to put him, he's putting stress," Lelito said.
Rankins will surely be on some sort of a pitch count in his first NFL game. But he said he feels good after having ample time to recover from the injury. He said he rotated in with the first-string offense during practice.
Rankins began practicing two weeks ago -- the first day he was eligible under the NFL's injured-reserve rules. And Saturday is the first game he is eligible to play.
"I'm anxious," Rankins said. "Haven't been on the field for a while. So being able to get back out there, especially at this time, when things are looking up for us, you know, getting some other guys back and playing some real good games lately, coming out with some good wins, I'm just going to be happy to be part of it."
Asked how effective he expects to be after being sidelined for the past 11 weeks, Rankins said, "I guess we'll have to wait until Sunday to see that. But I feel fine. The recovery is going as expected. I haven't had any setbacks, getting my strength back, getting my endurance back. And it's fun to be out there playing."
Naturally, Rankins said the moment he is most looking forward to is that first hit -- at full speed in full pads.
"I think when you haven't done it for so long, just getting that first one out the way is going to be fun," Rankins said. "It's going to be a weight off your shoulders, so to speak. So I'm looking forward to it."
Rankins is primarily a three-technique tackle with some ability to rush the passer. But he said his versatility was his strong suit at Louisville, where he had 14 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss over his final two seasons.
The Saints have gotten good production at the three-technique spot this year out of veteran Nick Fairley (3.5 sacks) and fellow rookie David Onyemata. So they will probably get creative and use two of them together in passing situations.
"Nick and David have done a great job. Just watching those guys on film every week has made me more hungry to come back and show what I can do," said Rankins, who couldn't pinpoint exactly where he'll line up.
"I have a history of doing it all. That was kind of my calling card coming out of college, being versatile, being able to play all up and down the defensive line. So being able to play nose, being able to play three-technique, rush the passer, stop the run, I feel I'm well-equipped to do it all. It's just about what they need me to do."
