15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023: No. 15 Sheldon Rankins

We’re kicking off our “15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023” series with Sheldon Rankins, a key component of Houston’s defensive turnaround.

The Houston Texans had, by all accounts, an extremely successful 2023 campaign.

They cruised to a 10-7 record under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and captured several accolades along the way. They won the AFC South and won a playoff game for the first time since the 2019 season. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud won PFWA’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, rookie edge rusher Will Anderson won PFWA’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, and even Ryans took home hardware with PFWA’s Coach of the Year.

With a revamped team effort that led to dramatic improvements compared to both the 2021 and 2022 Texans, it’s worth examining who created that impact this past season and what their future projects moving forward.

This series will examine the Top 15 most impactful Houston Texans of the 2023 campaign — first up on that list is defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.