Drop reportedly in rank (4)
I believe the answer is:
tier
'rank' is the definition.
(tier is a kind of rank)
'drop reportedly' is the wordplay.
'drop' becomes 'tear' (I've seen this before).
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'tear' is a homophone of 'TIER'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for tier that I've seen before include "Level within hierarchy" , "Rite for a rank" , "Rank - row" , "Echelon" , "Rank, level" .)