What the Heldt?
I haven't figured out how I'm going to grade Clemson EDGE rusher, Will Heldt. I guess I'll have to figure it out before I write the conclusion part of this profile. One reason I'm struggling is after watching some old video, I decided that I like Heldt better than the following prospect from the 2019 draft.
The player only had 7.5 sacks in 2018, playing at a low level of competition. He had off-field character questions, because he got suspended by his team. Lance Zierlein gave him a 6th round grade, saying that he had a high ceiling, but needed to bulk up for 2 years before he'd be ready to play, had poor contact balance, an underdeveloped body, poor body control, his pad level was too high, would struggle at the POA in the pros, was easily widened, caved or turned by power, wasn't quick hands lacked strength, consistency and technique, tackles got broken, had an elementary pass rush approach, and had average burst to the QB.
Watching his games again, I'd say that he had a rare frame with very long arms, a hyper motor, very slippery, great tackling radius, a forced fumble machine, quick hands, active hands to disengage from blocks, good lateral movements to counter and stay alive on pass rushes.
For negatives, I'd say that he had sluggish COD, average redirect to the ball, loses balance, stumbles trying to mirror runners, leaks momentum trying to redirect to QB movement in the pocket, flails active arms but inefficiently without precision and coordination, pad level too high vs run blocks, not an explosive pass rusher, not accurate hands, misses swipes, struggles to maintain leverage and anchor vs double teams, can get buried and pushed off the LOS by double teams, lackluster closing burst to QB, below average play strength vs run, too finesse, freelances and tries to go around run blocks or swim over them too often which rolls out the red carpet for RBs by vacating his gap responsibilities, doesn't try to stack run blocks despite having long arms, doesn't have an effective bull rush, his power rush stalls out, played against poor competition, isn't able to flatten at the apex to the QB, hips too high, causing him to go too far upfield, not impactful if you run directly at him and force him to be at the POA, can get stood straight up vs runs, not good with his hand in the dirt playing from a 3-point stance, missing the power and physical element in his game, too slender, never drives the OT back into the QB, spin move got stuffed by mediocre OT, doesn't have an explosive 1st step,
In sum, I'd say he's a unique player but unlikely to ever develop into an NFL starter. Maybe he could block kicks on special teams and if he could improve his technique, gain some weight, develop into a situational pass rusher. LZ's grade looks good to me, let's go with that. Maybe even generous. I'm not sure I'd even bother drafting this guy. Seems like a flyer pick, not a player with a high floor. Just throwing darts at the dart board, gambling that you could turn him into something down the road.
Maybe you've already guessed the identity of this player by now. It is Maxx Crosby, a 4th round selection in the 2019 draft. He played at Eastern Michigan. He didn't need a redshirt season in the pros after all. He had 10 sacks as a rookie and was 2nd in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting behind Nick Bosa. Okay, then. I sure nailed that evaluation, didn't I?
Many experts see Heldt as a 1st round prospect. Sam Teets disagrees. He thinks that Heldt is closer to what LZ predicted Crosby would become, just a rotational backup and ST player. Teets only has a 5th round grade on Heldt. PFN is even lower on Heldt, they have him as about a 6th round pick. I'd normally side with Teets and Cummings, because I think they are really good evaluators, so even though they are in the minority camp, my instincts would be to choose their side of the argument.
When I started watching Heldt, I knew exactly who I was going to use as his NFL comp (no, it isn't Crosby). After only about 2 plays, I already had a pretty good idea where he'd likely be graded. Are we going to stick with that plan or go in another direction at the last minute? There are other comps we could have considered, but I'm not going with. Tavius Robinson was a very tall EDGE in the 2023 draft. He was taken 4 slots before the Rams drafted Stetson Bennett. I was a little surprised he was drafted so early; I was expecting him to be a late round pick. Robinson broke his foot playing against the Rams last year. He has 9 sacks in 3 seasons.
This is a tricky one. I'll probably sleep on it.
I haven't figured out how I'm going to grade Clemson EDGE rusher, Will Heldt. I guess I'll have to figure it out before I write the conclusion part of this profile. One reason I'm struggling is after watching some old video, I decided that I like Heldt better than the following prospect from the 2019 draft.
The player only had 7.5 sacks in 2018, playing at a low level of competition. He had off-field character questions, because he got suspended by his team. Lance Zierlein gave him a 6th round grade, saying that he had a high ceiling, but needed to bulk up for 2 years before he'd be ready to play, had poor contact balance, an underdeveloped body, poor body control, his pad level was too high, would struggle at the POA in the pros, was easily widened, caved or turned by power, wasn't quick hands lacked strength, consistency and technique, tackles got broken, had an elementary pass rush approach, and had average burst to the QB.
Watching his games again, I'd say that he had a rare frame with very long arms, a hyper motor, very slippery, great tackling radius, a forced fumble machine, quick hands, active hands to disengage from blocks, good lateral movements to counter and stay alive on pass rushes.
For negatives, I'd say that he had sluggish COD, average redirect to the ball, loses balance, stumbles trying to mirror runners, leaks momentum trying to redirect to QB movement in the pocket, flails active arms but inefficiently without precision and coordination, pad level too high vs run blocks, not an explosive pass rusher, not accurate hands, misses swipes, struggles to maintain leverage and anchor vs double teams, can get buried and pushed off the LOS by double teams, lackluster closing burst to QB, below average play strength vs run, too finesse, freelances and tries to go around run blocks or swim over them too often which rolls out the red carpet for RBs by vacating his gap responsibilities, doesn't try to stack run blocks despite having long arms, doesn't have an effective bull rush, his power rush stalls out, played against poor competition, isn't able to flatten at the apex to the QB, hips too high, causing him to go too far upfield, not impactful if you run directly at him and force him to be at the POA, can get stood straight up vs runs, not good with his hand in the dirt playing from a 3-point stance, missing the power and physical element in his game, too slender, never drives the OT back into the QB, spin move got stuffed by mediocre OT, doesn't have an explosive 1st step,
In sum, I'd say he's a unique player but unlikely to ever develop into an NFL starter. Maybe he could block kicks on special teams and if he could improve his technique, gain some weight, develop into a situational pass rusher. LZ's grade looks good to me, let's go with that. Maybe even generous. I'm not sure I'd even bother drafting this guy. Seems like a flyer pick, not a player with a high floor. Just throwing darts at the dart board, gambling that you could turn him into something down the road.
Maybe you've already guessed the identity of this player by now. It is Maxx Crosby, a 4th round selection in the 2019 draft. He played at Eastern Michigan. He didn't need a redshirt season in the pros after all. He had 10 sacks as a rookie and was 2nd in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting behind Nick Bosa. Okay, then. I sure nailed that evaluation, didn't I?
Many experts see Heldt as a 1st round prospect. Sam Teets disagrees. He thinks that Heldt is closer to what LZ predicted Crosby would become, just a rotational backup and ST player. Teets only has a 5th round grade on Heldt. PFN is even lower on Heldt, they have him as about a 6th round pick. I'd normally side with Teets and Cummings, because I think they are really good evaluators, so even though they are in the minority camp, my instincts would be to choose their side of the argument.
When I started watching Heldt, I knew exactly who I was going to use as his NFL comp (no, it isn't Crosby). After only about 2 plays, I already had a pretty good idea where he'd likely be graded. Are we going to stick with that plan or go in another direction at the last minute? There are other comps we could have considered, but I'm not going with. Tavius Robinson was a very tall EDGE in the 2023 draft. He was taken 4 slots before the Rams drafted Stetson Bennett. I was a little surprised he was drafted so early; I was expecting him to be a late round pick. Robinson broke his foot playing against the Rams last year. He has 9 sacks in 3 seasons.
This is a tricky one. I'll probably sleep on it.