In exchange for wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, the Green Bay Packers returned the Philadelphia Eagles' 2026 fifth-rounder and a sixth-rounder in 2027. Draft expert Chad Reuter puts the first of those assets, the 153rd pick of this year's draft, to intriguing use in his long-awaited mock draft, giving Green Bay edge rusher Michael Heldman out of Central Michigan University.
Where? Not many NFLers come out of CMU. Heldman, though, is a special case, an elite athlete and a top-tier gamewrecker. How he ended up on the Chippewas' roster in the Mid-American Conference is a mystery.
Don't let his big-board rankings fool you. Spinning Philadelphia's fifth-round pick into Michael Heldman would be a winning outcome for Green Bay.
Packers can't dismiss Michael Heldman as run-of-the-mill MAC prospectÂ
"Elite athlete" is an understatement. Historically, Heldman's 9.90 Relative Athletic Score ranks in the 99th percentile among defensive ends to receive a grade ahead of the draft. He has solid size at 6-foot-3 and 268 pounds, and high-end strength. The RAS system awarded him speed and agility scores of at least 8.05 out of 10 in every drill or testing event.
A 40-inch vertical and 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump earned him an "elite" score in the explosive category.
Those aren't just raw athletic traits. Heldman displayed his unique gifts on the football field by racking up 12 sacks and 53 pressures, per Pro Football Focus, and an overall grade of 92.9 - first in the country. That's right, a Central Michigan Chippewa posted the nation's best PFF grade.
In addition to ranking sixth in sacks and 16th in pressures, Heldman made 29 stops, forced two fumbles, and earned a run-defense grade of 86.7, 11th out of 852 edge rushers. In short, he is an all-around wrecking ball.
How much of his production resulted from playing a soft MAC schedule? Perhaps uncertainty on that front explains his undervaluation across the spectrum. Both PFF and Pro Football Network class him as a back-end seventh-rounder or an undrafted free agent. According to PFN, his consensus ranking is even lower.
Dominating weaker opponents boosted his numbers, no doubt, but his athleticism transcends the box score. While raw athletes don't always pan out in the pros, Heldman's testing numbers are impossible to ignore.
True, they already have Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver, Day 3 picks in last year's draft, but drafting depth at edge rusher remains an underrated need. Offseason casualties Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare accounted for over 1,100 snaps in 2025, and Micah Parsons is expected to begin the year hurt. Lukas Van Ness had his own injury issues. Those considerations matter.
Maybe the Packers could still land Heldman in Round 6 or 7, or maybe not. Either way, using the spoils of the Wicks trade on a Day 3 dart-throw like Heldman would hardly be a frivolous use of resources.
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