Mel Kiper Jr. gives Owen Heinecke huge NFL Draft boost

Say it louder for the NFL scouts in the back, Mel Kiper Jr.

As Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke tries to impress at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis to get his name called during the 2026 NFL Draft after having his OU career abruptly cut short, Kiper, ESPN's most notable draft expert, recently raved about Heinecke as a prospect while a guest on KREF The Ref radio this week.

Mel Kiper Jr. expects strong NFL Combine showing to bolster Owen Heinecke's NFL Draft stock

"He's been one of my 'just missed' off-ball linebackers for a lot of weeks there during the season," Kiper said. "He was just the guy, flew to the football. He went from Point A to Point B so fast. And I kept saying, 'Who's he?'"

Kiper had to watch plenty of OU football in 2025 because of its loaded defense, including 2026 NFL Draft prospects defensive tackles Damonic Williams and Gracen Halton, safety Robert Spears-Jennings, and linebacker Kendall Daniels, all who Kiper mentioned during his interview. However, Kiper admitted that even though he turned on the game to watch the big names, he kept noticing Heinecke during what was a breakout season for the former walk-on and lacrosse player.

After playing primarily on special teams and as a reserve linebacker the previous two seasons, Heinecke finally earned more playing time in 2025 and ultimately finished as a starter who garnered All-SEC Second-Team honors.

Heinecke planned on getting one more season of college football to climb up draft boards, but this week while Heinecke was already in Indianapolis, the NCAA denied his appeal for another year, seemingly making the NFL Heinecke's only option unless something drastically changes.

It's basically a make-or-break week for Heinecke at the NFL Combine. Having just one season with a lot of playing time has contributed to a lot of Heinecke's weaknesses based on draft evaluations, plus his lack of size at 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds. That has most draft experts not even expecting Heinecke to hear his name called at all, but be forced to sign somewhere as an undrafted free agent.

However, an impressive showing at the NFL Combine could flip the script for Heinecke, and no one agrees more with that than Kiper.

"I wanna see what he's able to do combine-wise, measurable-wise," Kiper said. "If he does test well, you're talking, I think early Day 3 is a possibility for Heinecke, because he's gonna be a tremendous special teamer. He's gonna be a guy that gives you, obviously when he's on the field, great instincts, awareness, tackler, attitude, approach, leadership -- all those things -- his intensity.

"Yes, I think, because of all that, yeah, he has a nice NFL career. And I could see him going, like I said, I have a fourth-round grade on him right now."