NFL draft: Chargers select Miami DE Akheem Mesidor with 1st-round pick
EL SEGUNDO - The Chargers had two unmistakable needs entering the NFL draft on Thursday, and they filled one of them by taking University of Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor with the 22nd overall selection, giving them pass rushing depth beyond Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu.
The Chargers can address their second need by selecting a left guard in either the second or third round when the draft continues Friday. They have the 55th and 86th selections on the second day of the three-day draft. The fourth through seventh rounds will be conducted Saturday.
Mesidor, 25, recorded 12½ sacks, the third-most in FBS, among his 63 overall tackles this past season with the Hurricanes. Overall, the Ottawa, Ontario, native had 35½ sacks during a collegiate career that began at West Virginia in 2020. He transferred to Miami in 2022.
Mack, Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh formed a three-headed pass-rushing monster after the Chargers acquired Oweh from the Baltimore Ravens last Oct. 8. Tuipulotu had a career-high 13 sacks, Oweh had 7½ and Mack had five, spearheading a defense that ranked ninth in the league in points allowed last season.
But the Chargers lost Oweh to the Washington Commanders in free agency and needed a replacement.
"Awesome," Mesidor said of the chance to play and learn from Mack, 35, a likely Hall of Fame selection who signed a one-season, $18 million contract to play his fifth season with the Chargers and his 13th overall. "He's a legend. I'm going to ask him hella questions. I can't wait."
Asked why he picked an edge rusher ahead of an offensive lineman in the first round, Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz smiled broadly and said, simply, "Best. Player. Available." Hortiz also provided a detailed analysis of Mesidor's play at Miami, especially in 2025.
"A relentless motor, a productive pass rusher, a physical player versus the run, a guy whose motor never turns off," Hortiz said of Mesidor, listed at 6-foot-3 and 259 pounds at the draft combine. "He was on a heater all year and played some of his best ball down the stretch in the playoffs. So, we're really fired up to get him."
Asked about his best traits as a player, Mesidor said, "I work my butt off. I'm relentless. You'll look at me, like, ‘This guy came to work.'"
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said adding Mesidor to a group of outside linebackers headed by Mack and Tuipulotu would be "fire, as the kids say." The Chargers also will have Bud Dupree and Kyle Kennard competing for snaps when training camp begins in late July.
"All-down player," Harbaugh said of how he might use Mesidor.
In other words, the Chargers won't be shy about using Mesidor equally in running or passing situations. He could line up as an inside pass rusher or an outside pass rusher, depending on what's called for in a specific scenario. What's more, he might join Tuipulotu on special teams.
"He's just a top player we didn't think would be there, but we're super-excited that he was," Harbaugh said. "(He can play) in known passing downs, second-and-long, third downs, much like Tuli does. Tuli is so effective whether it's playing from the edge or playing inside."
Hortiz acknowledged working the phones in order to add picks and/or move back in the draft order. He said he was busy the past "three to four days," but nothing of substance materialized, which isn't to say something won't develop either Friday or Saturday or both days.
The Chargers don't have picks in either the fifth or seventh rounds Saturday, having traded them to the Ravens for Oweh in '25 and to the Tennessee Titans for safety Elijah Molden in '24.
"We had calls," Hortiz said of trade talks. "We did not have an offer."
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 7:57 PM.