The Los Angeles Chargers already had a strong pair of pass rushers in Tuli Tuipulotu and Khalil Mack heading into 2026. But it became clear with the addition of Odafe Oweh last season that a third disruptive edge rusher was needed to truly cement the team's defensive front.
That need, to an extent, forced their hand in the first round, with Los Angeles selecting Akheem Mesidor out of the University of Miami at 22nd overall.
There are reasons to feel non-committal about the selection. Mesidor is already 25, and there's a decent chance that, by the time he gets to a second contract, his athleticism will have already started to decline. But in terms of what the Chargers need now, Mesidor couldn't be a better fit.
Gary Davenport at Bleacher Report, who recently ranked the top-10 pass rush duos in the NFL, seems to agree. He had Los Angeles at number eight after their selection of Mesidor. Here's what he had to say about the Chargers' pass rush in 2026:
" This is another situation where the edge-rushing duo may be more of a trio this season. The Los Angeles Chargers had one of the better defenses in the NFL last year, including a respectable 45 sacks.... However, the future could be now (or at least near) in Los Angeles opposite Tuipulotu. Â With their first pick in this year's draft, the Chargers selected Miami's Akheem Mesidor, a talented 6'3", 259-pounder who had 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss for the Hurricanes last year." Gary Davenport, Bleacher Report
Losing Odafe Oweh was rough, but Mesidor's addition should more than make up for it
The Chargers' mid-season trade for Oweh was a home-run even factoring in his departure in free agency to the Washington Commanders. Acquired for just Alohi Gilman and a Day 3 pick swap, Oweh posted 7.5 sacks and 28 combined tackles through 12 games in a Chargers uniform. Although he joined the team in Mack's absence, his production stayed steady upon Mack's return.
What many analysts failed to account for with Oweh's departure was the fact that much of his production was due to Jesse Minter's ability to leverage his trio of pass rushers in complement with one another. If new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary is able to find that same balance, Mesidor could easily have as impactful a campaign as Oweh did last season.
He's certainly got the pop. Through 15 games in his final season at the University of Miami, Mesidor was highly productive, totaling 55 pressures to go with the 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss that Davenport mentioned, per Pro Football Focus. He also has the versatility to line up inside when needed, which should grant him additional snaps as a rookie.
But Mesidor's addition is simply the icing on the cake. Tuipulotu broke at as a star defender last season, posting 13 sacks and 70 total pressures across 16 games. Even with his contract extension looming this offseason, it's reasonable to expect him to at least come close to replicating that production in 2026.
Mack is no longer the alpha pass rusher he once was, but he's still highly disruptive off the edge. Although the sack production wasn't always there in 2025 (he totaled 5.5 across 12 games), he amassed 39 pressures in that span.
They might not surpass teams with bona-fide star-caliber pass rushing duos, such as the Houston Texans and the Los Angeles Rams, in terms of production, but they should be firmly in that tier by the time everything's said and done in 2026.
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