AP

First-round pick Sheldon Rankins is already showing signs of paying big dividends for the Saints this year.

But even he didn’t realize how big his play yesterday was when he made it.

According to Josh Katzenstein of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, one of the highlights of yesterday’s joint practice with the Patriots was the Louisville defensive tackle picking off Tom Brady and taking it the other way.

“I didn’t really realize it was Tom Brady until after when somebody told me, ‘You just picked off a four-time Super Bowl champion,'” Rankins said. “And then it kind of sunk in a little bit, but I just try to go out and practice hard, be in the right places when I needed to be there and I was. . . .

“I caught it, just had a flashback to my running back days and just go score.”

Rankins said he was a running back until the 10th grade, when he converted to defense. The Saints are glad he did, as they’re hoping he can be a foundation piece for a team that desperately needs to improve on that side of the ball.