It’s hard for long shots to make NFL teams because most roster spots are decided before camp starts, but a long shot who clearly looks like he can play in the league is defensive tackle Jack Heflin.
You watch him, in the limited reps he gets, and he clearly knows what he’s doing out there.
And there is a good reason for that. This isn’t his first rodeo. He is 28 years old and has bounced around on several NFL practice squads the last five seasons, along with playing one season in the XFL (Houston Roughnecks) and making first-team All-XFL.
At Saturday’s practice, he had two nice run stops in the trenches.
The Iowa product via Northern Illinois is a smart, tough player with good technique. He’s kind of like a poor man’s Mike Devito.
It’s hard to see him making the opening-day roster with most spots decided already, but he certainly looks like a guy who could be positioning himself for another practice-squad opportunity.
But watching him, if you ever needed to call this guy up from the practice squad due to injuries, he looks like somebody who would do a solid job.
When watching the Jets’ preseason opener against Tampa Bay, keep an eye on #96. The Jets might have something here.
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