Saints rookie Taylor Stallworth embracing next man up role after Sheldon Rankins injury
 

Taylor Stallworth is not going so far as to say his role has changed after the New Orleans Saints lost defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins for the season to a torn Achilles.

It is more like his role is picking up.

“Man down,” Stallworth said. “I’ve got to pick it up some more.”

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The undrafted rookie out of South Carolina could potentially be thrust into a more expansive role than he has ever played at the professional level, and if that is the case, it would happen at the season’s most critical juncture against one of the NFL’s best offenses.

And Stallworth is good with that.

With help from his coaches and veteran teammates, Stallworth feels he has been building his game into something better with each passing week, picking a small detail each day to master and add to his game.

He has solicited help from Rankins, Tyeler Davison and David Onyemata, refining the minutiae of his technique, whether it is regarding his first step or his hand placement. The help Rankins offered made seeing him down on the turf sting more.

Stallworth said he reached out to Rankins the day of and the day after the injury.

“It sucks seeing how much he put into this, his work ethic, how smart he is and understands the game,” Stallworth said. “I look up to him. Seeing him go down, it hurt.”

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Re: Saints rookie Taylor Stallworth embracing next man up role after Sheldon Rankins injury
 

Totally sucks not having Rankins however Stallworth & David O have been very, very good against the run + they'll (David & Davison) get more snaps.

Getting off the field on 3rd down will be paramount.

Re: Saints rookie Taylor Stallworth embracing next man up role after Sheldon Rankins injury
 

Onyemata has really come on strong. Tyler Davidson is tough. If Stallworth can give us some good snaps, great. We'll see.

Re: Saints rookie Taylor Stallworth embracing next man up role after Sheldon Rankins injury
 

Come on kid. Suck it up & kick some buttocks!

Re: Saints rookie Taylor Stallworth embracing next man up role after Sheldon Rankins injury
 

I am really looking forward to seeing this kid play today. I'm not sure how many snaps he'll get, but I'm sure he'll get some. Pretty intriguing player. Good size, but average physical talents like strength and speed. But he's a high character guy with outstanding balance, hands and body control. He'll have his hands full today, but if he can hold his own vs the Rams stellar O-line, I'll be really proud.