Akheem Mesidor has often found himself overshadowed by his teammate Rueben Bain Jr., but the Miami edge rusher is a force of his own. Mesidor teeters between a late first round pick and second round pick, but the NFL Scouting Combine could bring more certainty to his draft stock.
Mesidor finished the season with 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss. Both of those numbers led the Hurricanes in 2025. Even if you went in looking for Bain, it was impossible to miss Mesidor. There’s multiple sacks where Bain and Mesidor meet at the quarterback and Mesidor beats him to the spot.
Mesidor is explosive, but he isn’t necessarily viewed as an athletic freak. If he can go to the NFL Combine and put up some impressive numbers, it’s only going to help him. If the testing is just average, that with two other major factors could put the New Orleans Saints in position to land Mesidor in the second round.
Akheem Mesidor is a natural Cam Jordan heir apparent, but the Saints may need luck to get him
The Saints should look to maintain Cam Jordan for at least another season. Mesidor doesn’t have to be viewed as Jordan’s replacement but rather an heir apparent. What makes this such a natural fit is Mesidor’s knack for being a high motor rusher. That’s also the way to describe Jordan. It would be a natural hand off of sorts between a veteran and younger player who share a defining trait.
Speaking of age, Mesidor spent 6 years in college. That won’t impact him much, but it could scare off some teams in the first round. One could argue, as a high effort player, age isn’t as big of a factor. It’s not like a speed rusher who loses his speed as he gets older. A high motor player tends to remain a high motor player.
The other aspect is his length. NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein listed one of Mesidor’s weaknesses as “lacks desired height/length as an NFL edge.” Bain is an athletic freak that will make many look beyond his arm length. The Saints would be wise to do the same for Mesidor if he falls to 42. That doesn’t mean other teams would be willing to look past it in the first round. Like Bain, his arm length will be an interesting metric through the draft process.
Mesidor is a fantastic pass rush artist, but he has a few things that could work against him as a first round prospect. His measurements have been questioned, and he comes in as a 25-year old rookie. Neither of those things keep him from being a talented prospect. Teams tend to look at those aspects early, however, so that could push him to the Saints.