The event Jack Heflin has been working and waiting for is finally at hand. The NFL draft begins tonight, and Heflin hopes his name is called during the seven-round event during which 255 players will be selected over three days.
Heflin says he is going into the draft with the mindset that he will not be drafted, saying that if he is drafted, “it’s just gravy.” The former EP Panther and standout defensive tackle at Northern Illinois University and University of Iowa will spend the draft at his Iowa City home with friends and family.
“No one knows how this is going to shake out, so I don’t want to be disappointed if I don’t get drafted. I will still have a lot of opportunities.”
Heflin says he has talked to several teams and feels good about ending up with an NFL franchise via the draft or as an undrafted free agent. “I’m probably not going to watch much of it because I don’t want to get stressed out.”
The 6’4″, 315 pound Heflin has a been marching toward his ultimate goal for the past five years. After announcing his intention to enter the draft last December he spent the next few months at a training facility in Ft. Worth, Texas, preparing for a Pro Day that took the place of the annual NFL Combine where players gather to perform for NFL Scouts. Instead several universities and colleges held smaller versions of the event due to Covid concerns. He said he was happy with his performance at the Iowa Pro Day held on March 22nd . “I was happy, I thought I performed well especially in the D-line specific drills,” said Heflin.
He is hopeful he will be taken in the later rounds of the draft on Saturday. Saying he’s a “pretty relaxed human”, Heflin admitted that in January and February, “I was pretty stressed out thinking about it.”
The event is being held in Cleveland and begins at 7:00 PM on Thursday with the first round. The 2-3 rounds will be conducted on Friday beginning at 6:00 PM and rounds 4-7 will start at Noon on Saturday. The draft will be carried by ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network.
