Let’s add another player to the list of pre-draft visitors with the Green Bay Packers, and this one checks just about every box of the typical Packers visitor. Small-school player? Check. Elite athlete? Check. Likely to be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent? Check.
Enter Michael Heldman, a defensive end out of Central Michigan, whose visit was reported on Friday by Tom Pelissero. Heldman, a 3.5-year starter for the Chippewas, had posted 8.5 sacks over his first four seasons before breaking
out in his senior year to the tune of 10.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. He also added four pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles in 2025 on his way to First-Team All-MAC honors.
Although he did not earn an invite to the 2026 NFL Combine, Heldman held a phenomenal workout at CMU’s Pro Day, lighting up the stopwatches. Check out all the green boxes on his RAS card, as those testing numbers look great for an off-ball linebacker rather than an edge rusher:
Though he played as a 4-3 end in college, Heldman also reportedly did some coverage drills at his Pro Day in anticipation that he may end up as a 3-4 outside linebacker at the NFL level.
The best game of the 2025 season for Heldman arguably came in the Chippewa’s 38-19 victory over Buffalo in November, when he posted four total tackles, two sacks, two more QB hits, and two pass breakups. However, the level of competition in the MAC will be a concern, and it is surely part of the reason why he is ranked just 270th on the consensus draft board. Although CMU played three games against Power-Five schools last fall, Heldman had just 3 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in those games with no QB hits or sacks.
Still, that is remarkable athleticism for a 6-foot-4, nearly 270-pound edge player. The Packers have a pair of 7th-round draft picks this season, and a player like Heldman is just the kind of project the team might take a flier on with one of them.
Heldman joins Texas Tech’s Romello Height as the only edge defenders on the list of reported visitors so far, a list that is now up to 19 names with the addition of the CMU product.
