Perfect Late-Round EDGE Fit for Detroit Lions

It's no secret that many believe the Detroit Lions would vastly improve their defense with the addition of a second potent EDGE opposite of Aidan Hutchinson.

To Hutchinson's credit, he is coming off a season in which he produced a career-high 14.5 sacks and earned Second-Team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press. However, the Lions also got some help in that department from Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had a career-best 11 sacks in 2025.

Muhammad has departed, signing a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Detroit countered by signing two players, D.J. Wonnum and Payton Turner, to one-year contracts. However, they could benefit from adding another young EDGE in the NFL Draft.

The Lions have a plethora of depth needs on their roster, and under general manager Brad Holmes the Lions have been very selective about the players they target in the draft. This has led the team to not draft for need but rather for fit, as they target players who fit their scheme and cultural standards.

Central Michigan's Michael Heldman is an intriguing prospect who put together a solid resume in the Mid-American Conference, and could be an ideal late-round target. He was a first-team All-MAC selection with 10.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss last season, and ranks sixth in program history in career sacks with 19 in total.

Hailing from Romeo, Michigan, he's a local product who could wind up being an intriguing steal for the Lions late in the Draft.

From a metric perspective, Heldman had an elite 2025 season. He finished second amongst all qualified defensive ends in Pro Football Focus' overall defensive grade with a 95.2 mark, behind only Texas Tech's David Bailey.

In addition to his performance in total, his run defense grade was a solid 87.3, and his pass-rush grade was a 92.3. Those grades ranked sixth and fifth, respectively, amongst defensive ends.

There will be concerns about competition level, but there are several success stories to come out of the MAC in recent years. Philadelphia's Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo), Cleveland's Harold Fannin Jr. (Bowling Green) and Darius Alexander (Toledo) are all recent first-or-second-round picks out of the conference.

Heldman also has strong testing numbers, as his performance at CMU's Pro Day registered solid scores on Kent Lee Platte's Relative Athletic Score grading system. The system, analyzes player's testing numbers amidst their position groups, gave Heldman a 9.88 out of 10 based on his numbers from his Pro Day.