Akheem Mesidor hasn’t even hit the padded part of training camp, and he’s already making life uncomfortable for the Chargers’ veterans.
That’s the kind of early buzz Los Angeles wanted when it used the No. 22 overall pick on the Miami edge rusher in April. Mesidor came into the league with a polished résumé - first-team All-ACC honors, finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award, 12.5 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles in his final season with the Hurricanes - and he’s wasting no time showing why the Chargers believed he could help right away.
At The Bolt in El Segundo, the rookie class is getting plenty of attention, with wide receiver Brenen Thompson and interior lineman Jake Slaughter also trying to carve out roles. But Mesidor is the name drawing the most notice, and not just because of where he was drafted. The bigger story is how he’s attacking every rep.
Joe Alt has seen enough to say it plainly. The Chargers’ left tackle has been matched up with Mesidor often this summer, and the rookie’s effort has stood out as much as any pass-rush flash.
“There hasn’t been a day yet where I’m like, ‘He took that play off or he didn’t go hard on that play.’ Every single play, he is trying to better himself and be the best person, the best player you can be. And you can see that and it tests everybody,” Alt told reporters after practice, according to ClutchPoints, via Kris Rhim of ESPN.
That’s no small compliment coming from the man blocking him. Alt is coming off a strong second season, and for a first-year edge rusher to consistently test him this early says plenty about Mesidor’s approach.
He’s also earning respect from another corner of the defensive room. Khalil Mack has taken note too, saying he’s excited to see what Mesidor looks like once the contact starts in earnest, per the Chargers’ own reporting.
The timing matters for Los Angeles. The Chargers finished 10th in the NFL in sacks last season, but the pass rush took a hit when Odafe Oweh left in free agency for the Washington Commanders. Some outlets reported that deal as worth up to $100 million over four years, while another put it closer to $96 million, and the exact figure hasn’t been officially confirmed by either team.
That leaves Mack and 2025 Pro Bowler Tuli Tuipulotu as the top names in the room, and Tuipulotu has been a limited participant in practice this camp while contract talks continue. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said the team is “handling internally,” and that situation has opened the door for more first-team work for Mesidor.
The Chargers drafted him for a reason: they wanted a pass rusher who could step in now, not one who needed a long runway. Mesidor was viewed as one of the more pro-ready players in the class, and early camp has only strengthened that idea.
Of course, there’s a limit to what can be learned before the pads come on. Even ESPN’s Chargers beat reporter has cautioned that line play is hard to judge in these early practices. Still, the word coming from teammates every day is hard to ignore.
The Chargers open the regular season on September 13th against the Arizona Cardinals, and Mesidor’s progress between now and then will say plenty about how ready Los Angeles is to replace the production it lost in the pass rush.
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