It was no secret the Chargers were searching for a pass rusher in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night — and they found one.
The Chargers selected former Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor at No. 22 overall, making him the heir apparent for Khalil Mack in a pass rushing unit that was hit hard by Odafe Oweh leaving in free agency.
The 6-foot-3, 259-pound Mesidor should provide immediate depth to a edge rushing unit that needs to recoup some of the production Oweh took to Washington. And with Khalil Mack’s career being renewed on a year-to-year basis, Mesidor will get the chance to learn from Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree before seeing a likely starting role in the seasons ahead.
The Chargers will be hoping Mesidor is a quick learner — at 25 years old, the Canadian-born Mesidor is older than a typical first-round pick.
Still, Mesidor has intimidating credentials. He had 35½ career sacks and posted 12½ sacks with Miami last season in its run to the national championship game. He also had 17½ tackles for loss last season. He finished 2025 with the sixth-best defense grade (92.5) by Pro Football Focus and was tied for fourth among FBS rushers with 67 total pressures.
The one concern with Mesidor are the injury issues that extended his stay in the college ranks, but he played in 15 games for the Hurricanes last season.
The post Chargers bolster their pass rushing ranks by drafting Akheem Mesidor at No. 22 appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
