What It Means:

The 12th overall pick in April's NFL Draft, Rankins fractured his fibula in mid-August. The injured reserve designation means Rankins is out until at least Week 9, at which point he could be activated if declared the Saints' I.R./recall player. New Orleans' defense is going to get torched on a weekly basis once again.

Our algorithms project the Saints' defense for just 5.89 fantasy points in Week 1, the fourth-worst option.