Todd McShay highlights concern in Will Heldt, how he stacks up as NFL prospect

Clemson took a big-time transfer in defensive end Will Heldt to add to what’s already a stacked defense, especially along the line, for the Tigers. As a prospect for next year’s draft, though, Todd McShay sees a lot of work for him to do by the time next spring comes around.

Previewing the Clemson defense recently on ‘The McShay Show’, McShay, along with Steve Muench, mentioned Heldt, who transferred in this offseason from Purdue. He noted the odd time he had assessing him and his tape with some concerns coming off how he played at points with the Boilermakers.

“He was one of the weirder evaluations,” McShay said. “He’s the Titanic changing directions…We’re also going to be honest. Like, he’s not great versus the run. He gets sucked inside too much. He gets whacked down. He plays too high because he’s 6’6″, which happens. But then, when you go to change directions because you’ve lost discipline? Like, there’s some stuff that’s got to be worked out in his game. He’s got to play with better leverage. He’s got to be more (instinctual).”

In two full seasons in West Lafayette, Heldt posted 68 tackles, 11 for loss, with five sacks and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Most of that came last season as a sophomore with 56 tackles, 10 for loss, with all of his sacks and that fumble recovery. Heldt would then hit the portal, in the Top-25 overall and a Top-10 DE per On3’s 2025 Top Transfer Portal Players, after the coaching change at Purdue and ended up as one of the only transfers taken by Clemson recently.

That said, McShay thinks Heldt could be in for a rude awakening if some of those improvements aren’t made in his game. However, if they are, Clemson would have quite the pass-rushing duo with Heldt paired with T.J. Parker.

“Like, they’re not going to put up with that shit at Clemson,” McShay said. “You’ve got a superstar in Parker and I just told you all the discipline and the gap assignments and all the things that he does. Like, there’s going to have to be a mindset shift and he’s got to play with a lot more attention to detail.

“Played 726 snaps last year. So now you’ve got two edges who have got over 1,400 snaps from a year ago. They can be on the field a lot. We can move them around. If we want to bring in a young pup who’s an edge rusher, we can move him inside, we can drop this guy. And they’ve got depth along the interior.”

That’s the case with the positives that Heldt has in his evaluation. Those include his size and length and some versatility to either pass rush or drop into pass coverage.

“When you see him, with those long ass arms and the length to keep guys off his pads? And then you see him when they drop him? I thought it was – because, one of the early key plays in the tape that I was studying had him dropping. I’m like, quick note, like, kind of looked good, but that was probably an abberation? You know, whatever. And then I saw it, like, over and over on tape and I’m like, oh, this dude drops,” McShay said. “He’s got good instincts. And, weirdly, while he can’t redirect, he’s kind of shifty when he’s, like, opening his hips a little bit. Covers a lot of ground. Pain in the ass to throw around.”

Heldt is going to have a platform to perform on as part of what should be one of the best defenses in the country for a projected national title contender at Clemson. What he does with that will determine whether he could be a day-two selection, or better or worse, come April.

“I think he’s right now, if you draft him…Like, I wrote there’s talent there, but it’s got to be really be unlocked,” McShay said. “To me, he’s a day-three guy right now, but I see potential.”