Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor’s performance at the team’s pro day last week left several NFL scouts and executives impressed. Last season, Mesidor distinguished himself as one of the most dominant edge rushers in the country, alongside the talented Rueben Bain Jr., as Miami made a run to the national championship game.
In several mock drafts, Mesidor is seen as a potential first-round pick during the 2026 NFL Draft.
Akheem Mesidor Details NFL Meetings Amid Buccaneers’ Links
During Monday’s segment of the “Gramlich & Mac Lain” podcast, Mesidor outlined what the meetings with NFL teams during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month were like.
“One team explained to me how long a season is and how you have to go out there and perform. I was just respectful,” Mesidor said. “They know everything about you, at the end of the day, those meetings are about hearing your point of view on the person you are and hearing you speak and learn and understand football.
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“It’s different for each team. Some teams will go the full 20-45 minutes just asking questions about how you grew up. Some teams will go half personal and half film. Some teams will go full film. It’s like they say, it’s speed dating, it’s quick. They ask questions and you try to respond as quick as you can and you’re speaking super fast.”
Mesidor, who was a three-star recruit from high school, played for the West Virginia Mountaineers as a freshman before entering the transfer portal and joining the Hurricanes. In Miami, he established himself as one of the best pass rushers in the country.
Last season, alongside Bain, Miami earned an impressive PFSN College Defense Impact score of 89.9. The Hurricanes ranked No. 5 in the country in scoring defense and No. 11 in total defense. Primarily led by Mesidor, they also tallied 3.13 sacks per game, good for No. 4 in the country.
In his latest mock draft, PFSN analyst Ian Cummings predicted that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would select Mesidor with their No. 15 pick on draft night to fill a huge need on the team ahead of a pivotal 2026 season.
“For now, the Buccaneers are still clinging to their contention window with quarterback Baker Mayfield and head coach Todd Bowles. The pressure is on to produce playoff success in 2026, and that means that immediate help is needed at a position that’s been a thorn in Tampa Bay’s side: EDGE,” Cummings wrote.
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“In the 2026 NFL Draft, few EDGE prospects line up better with Tampa’s needs than Akheem Mesidor. Though he’ll be a 25-year-old rookie, Mesidor provides an instant pass-rush infusion with his explosion, agility, and power at 6-foot-3, 259 pounds, and he’s a stellar run defender, too.”
In a dominant season for the Hurricanes, Mesidor tallied 63 total tackles, 12.5 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles. These figures earned him an impressive PFSN College EDGE Impact score of 80.5.
