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Chargers’ top pick Akheem Mesidor eager to show love for the game

April 24, 2026

EL SEGUNDO — Akheem Mesidor’s route to the NFL was a long one, longer than most.

He looked and sounded exactly like someone who awoke before the crack of dawn, if he had slept at all after the Chargers’ picked him in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night, and then caught the earliest flight out of town, switching planes in a foreign city before flying coast to coast.

It was a whirlwind, to be sure.

It also was a part of the larger journey that’s taken the 6-foot-3, 259-pound defensive end from his hometown of Ottawa, the capital of Canada, to a high school in Clearwater, Florida, for greater exposure, to West Virginia University and then to the University of Miami before the Chargers picked him 22nd overall.

Overall, he played six seasons of college football, going through a pandemic in one season and missing all but three games of another because of injuries to both feet. He was little known and little regarded until transferring to Miami and then having a breakout season in 2025.

The Chargers selected him as a depth player beyond future Hall of Fame outside linebacker Khalil Mack and rising standout Tuli Tuipulotu, a first-time Pro Bowl pick last season. Some day, if all goes as expected and Mesidor fulfills the Chargers’ expectations of him, he could become the 35-year-old Mack’s replacement.

Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz said the team’s college scouts were drawn to Mesidor, 25, from the early days of the 2025 season, and they never let him out of their sight as he recorded 17.5 tackles for losses, including 13.5 sacks, with 67 quarterback pressures and four forced fumbles.

Coach Jim Harbaugh said it was clear Mesidor loved the game of football, loved to play and loved to practice. Harbaugh believed Mesidor would fit seamlessly into the Chargers’ culture, especially with Mack and Tuipulotu acting as mentors, showing him the way it’s done.

“Why do I love football?” Mesidor asked, repeating a reporter’s question. “I just love the game. It’s, like, if I asked you why you love pizza. You just love it. It’s a game I’ve been playing since I was 8 years old. The physicality, the violence, the technicality, like, how technical I am in my game. Everything that comes with football, on the field and off the field, the relationships that you can build. Football is more than just how it impacts you. It’s a lifestyle for me.”

Maybe it was a long night of celebrating his selection and then a long day of travel, but Mesidor sounded reserved and looked fatigued. His voice was quiet, subdued. There was no hint of the relentless pass rusher and tackler that he became during his final season with the Hurricanes.

The transformation will come once he hits the field.

Meanwhile, Mesidor said he intends to become a good student, learning from his teammates, especially Mack. It’s the same sort of path Tuipulotu took after the Chargers drafted him in the second round out of USC in 2023. He was a quiet observer, determined to learn from Mack.

“He’s been in the game so long,” Mesidor said of Mack, entering his 13th NFL season. “How has he done that? How does he take care of his body? Really, what’s his routine when it comes to day-to-day things? When we’re in the meeting room, what are his pass-rush plans? How does he approach different looks on the field? Just trying to pick his brain as much as possible.”

In so many ways, one journey is complete, but another is just beginning.

Orange County Register

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Chargers’ top pick Akheem Mesidor eager to show love for the game

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