Last summer, undrafted free agent rookie defensive lineman Jack Heflin went from a relative unknown to a preseason fan favorite. With only one year of Power Five experience after a transfer to Iowa, few had high expectations for Heflin when he signed with the Green Bay Packers post-draft. That changed in the preseason when the little-known rookie turned his “trash can full of dirt” evaluation into on-field production.
Heflin did enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster for the entire regular season but was waived leading up to the Packers’ divisional-round game against the San Francisco 49ers when outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus and receiver Randall Cobb were all activated in the same week.