The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is here! Players are running actual athletic drills (although not all of them – more on that later). We are inching ever so closely to the 2026 NFL offseason where the Bucs will have to make some big decisions to balance their roster. The defense has been the crux of my focus this offseason looking at multiple positions to find players who may be able to help Tampa Bay get back to a top-notch defense. Up next is Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor.

After working on quite a few draft and free agent linebackers, I am now shifting my focus to the edge position, where the Bucs will need to find a running mate for Yaya Diaby and perhaps some additional depth. Previous edge scouting reports are as follows:

Draft – David Bailey, T.J. Parker, Rueben Bain Jr.

Bain’s running mate at Miami, Akheem Mesidor, has been getting some love recently and is currently being discussed as a fringe first rounder. Could he be someone the Bucs target at 15 or in a trade back to provide some pass rush juice on defense?

Akheem Mesidor Background and College Career

Akheem Mesidor is an edge from Ottawa, Ontario. He attended Clearwater International High School in Florida where he developed into a three-star prospect. He committed to West Virginia in 2020 where he played immediately as a freshman.

Mesidor spent two seasons at West Virginia where he played 23 games, recording 70 tackles, 14.5 for a loss and 9.5 sacks. He entered the transfer portal in 2022 and transferred to Miami (FL).  He was a four-star prospect at that point, ranked No. 31 overall in the nation.

After a seven-sack season as a Junior in 2022, Mesidor missed most of his senior season in 2023 due to a season-ending foot injury. He returned for 20234 and 2025, finishing his Miami career with 26 sacks in 42 games along with an appearance in the college football championship.

Akheem Mesidor Scouting Report

Height: 6-foot-3 (37th percentile)

Weight: 259 yards (19th percentile)

Wingspan: 78.75” (25th percentile)

Arm length: 32.125” (8th percentile)

Age: 24 years old (turns 25 on April 5)

Games Watched: 2025 Notre Dame, 2025 Ohio State, 2025 Indiana

Athleticism

Akheem Mesidor uses every ounce of athleticism to his best ability, but his frame is on the smaller side. His burst off the line is slightly above average, but he adds too many steps which robs him of time that he can’t afford to lose.

His bend flashes as a real weapon on some reps, but he can’t consistently tap into it. More consistently he corners high using power and leverage against his blocker to flip his hips. That leverage was also a plus in college as apart of his speed-to-power package, but against bigger, stronger and faster tackles in the NFL I think that part of his game will be average at best.

Pass Rushing

Mesidor, who has 35.5 sacks in his career, has a deep bag of pass rush tools, which forms the basis for his upside. Those include a double-hand swipe, speed-to-power, long arm, dip and rip, cross face and ghost step. He sets these moves up well in college, but I worry about how many of those will translate to the next level.

Possibly Akheem Mesidor’s best Pass Rush move was this slick disappearing act he pulled off in the 3rd Q of the CFP National Championship game.#Miami #Hurricanes #NFLDraft #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/LuH0BLzH6L

— All 22 Films (@All_22_NFL_Cuts) February 20, 2026

Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor – Photo by IMAGN Images – Jerome Miron

What should translate is his eye discipline and awareness. He keeps his eyes in the backfield and gets his hands up to deflect passes if he can’t get home in time. Add in his quick, violent hands (his double hand swipe is his absolute best trick) and there is a lot to hope for.

Mesidor’s best path to success in the NFL is as a pass rush specialist. Part of that will be kicking inside on long and late downs where he can overwhelm interior offensive linemen with his quick first step, speed and power. That’s where his talents as an agent of chaos play up the most.

Miami Edge Akheem Mesidor has high end reps rushing inside…. will be interested to see how he does this week at the combine.. pic.twitter.com/xOIpxHUIDm

— RealBucsTalk (@RealBucsTalk) February 25, 2026

That agent of chaos playing style is both a pro and a con. When he frees himself in the pocket, he is often out of position to make a clean play at the quarterback leading him to throw his body wildly. His lack of balance finishing shows up consistently. Part of that is because his shoulder dip when cornering can be too high, helping tackles stay connected and give him a last shove.

Mesidor’s bend and power both flash, but neither is consistent. And he can waste precious time with extra steps. He is at his best when he causes tackles to overset and he hits them with an inside changeup. It helps keep his opponents off balance because he is comfortable throwing that at any time. But it plays up the most when he has won the corner to a few times to begin with – something that he can do well despite the inconsistencies with his speed up the arc and bend.

Fitting the Run

Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor – Photo by: IMAGN Images –

Mesidor has received high marks in college defending the run, but I have some real concerns on if he will be able to consistently translate to the NFL level. He doesn’t always set a hard edge. There are times where he will try to jump inside and backdoor a block when he is the front side point of attack on an outside flow run. This puts the entire structure of the defensive call in jeopardy and can lead to big plays for the offense unless Mesidor stops the run in the backfield. It’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy that won’t be sustainable at the next level.

When he does commit to the point of attack he will bring the fight to offensive tackles – he throws his body around and plays mean. It goes back to his chaos style of play. But unless he has some runway he can get eaten up and overwhelmed by linemen moving to him.

Mesidor can struggle to match the strength and intensity of offensive linemen which leads to him getting banged around. He is at his best fitting the run when he anticipates the play and can lock out his arms to keep blockers off his frame, but his arm length makes me question how often he will be able to do that going forward.

Pass Coverage

Miami asked Akheem Mesidor to drop into coverage at a rather high rate (75th percentile), and he looked comfortable doing it. He showed a real feel for movement around him in space. On one play against Ohio State, he dropped to cover a back in the flat but recognized and reacted to a shallow cross coming his way from the other side.

Mesidor was able to change direction and make the tackle before the receiver was able to get vertical after the catch. Not many pass rushers show that kind of awareness to make that play. But he puts it all together for what any defensive coordinator looks for in the modern game for a dropper – fluid getting into space, awareness to understand basic route concepts developing around him and the ability to react to the ball in flight to help the play after the catch.

Best Traits

• Pass Rush tricks and plan
• Versatility to move inside as part of NASCAR packages
• High-effort/motor to cause chaos in the pocket

Other

This is a section that I haven’t added to most of the scouting profiles I have posted, but it’s important to note Mesidor’s age and injury history. His medicals will need to check out and that’s not a foregone conclusion. If his foot shows long term damage it could push him way down some team’s boards and off of others’ altogether.

Additionally, he broke out as a 24-year-old super senior with 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, including nine sacks in the last eight games. Can his success against players several years younger than him translate to the NFL? It’s a fair question that needs to be addressed as a part of his evaluation.

Both of these factors have me concerned about him as far as my draft board goes.

Best Role and Fit With The Bucs

Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor – Photo by IMAGN Images – Jerome Miron

In an ideal world Akheem Mesidor is a pass rushing specialist that is used as a targeted weapon. If you can hide him against the run on early downs and deploy him strategically as a 4-3 end on third-and-short to medium and kick him in to a three-technique in late and long situations you can leverage the best of his talents and limit his weaknesses.

The Bucs have never sought out or used a player in that mold under a Todd Bowles defense, so it’s safe to wonder whether they would value Mesidor. It’s possible that he could develop a more disciplined approach in the run game to develop into a three-down player, but early he would best served as a sub-package player.

If he were to be deployed on early downs in the Bucs’ 3-4 scheme, he would need to be the weakside backer on the five-man front as tackle/tight end doubles would eat him up front side. As the pursuit backside chaser, he could take a more aggressive, playmaker approach. This would still be a risky proposition though because it would leave him attackable on counters and split flow back to his side.

Hear Akheem Mesidor Speak

NFL Draft evaluations are as much about the person as the player. Teams want to understand the person as much as the player. How do they think? How do they interpret the game? Who are they as someone who must integrate into a locker room? We can’t see nearly as much of this as teams do in their in-person interviews, but this year I want to help all of us hear more from the players that we evaluate.

With that in mind, here is an interview Akheem Mesidor did with David Pollack of the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast prior to the National Championship game.

It is clear Mesidor has an outgoing and gregarious personality. I could see him endearing himself to teammates as one of the more fun players who brings energy and accountability to a locker room and practices.