{"id":846933,"date":"2026-04-01T11:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/846933\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T11:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:20:20","slug":"eagles-predicted-to-land-34-5-sack-pass-rushing-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/846933\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles Predicted to Land 34.5-Sack Pass Rushing Star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Howie-Roseman.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Howie Roseman, Philadelphia Eagles\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Philadelphia Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman gestures prior to the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on October 16, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/philadelphia-eagles\/\" title=\"Philadelphia Eagles\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"210923\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> and Howie Roseman have a major need on the defensive side of the football that must be addressed.<\/p>\n<p>After losing <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/nakobe-dean\/\" title=\"Nakobe Dean\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211037\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nakobe Dean<\/a> and <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/jaelan-phillips\/\" title=\"Jaelan Phillips\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211035\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jaelan Phillips<\/a> in free agency, the Eagles need to add more pass rushing. They still have some options to consider in <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" title=\"NFL\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"210924\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, but something must be done.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, Philadelphia is projected to have a defensive front featuring <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/moro-ojomo\/\" title=\"Moro Ojomo\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211038\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Moro Ojomo<\/a>, Jalen Carter, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/jordan-davis\/\" title=\"Jordan Davis\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211034\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jordan Davis<\/a>, and Nolan Smith Jr. There is a lot of talent still on the roster, but Roseman needs to figure out how to bring in another elite pass rusher.<\/p>\n<p>Keeping that in mind, a new prediction has been made that would see the Eagles fix their problem in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>Eagles Predicted to Land Elite 34.5-Sack Pass Rusher<\/p>\n<p>ESPN NFL Draft expert Matt Miller has predicted that Philadelphia will land Miami Hurricanes standout pass rusher Ahkeem Mesidor in the first round with the No. 23 overall pick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Jaelan Phillips departing in free agency, the Eagles have to prioritize adding capable rushers early in this draft,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/draft2026\/story\/_\/id\/48299038\/2026-nfl-mock-draft-seven-rounds-257-picks-projections-matt-miller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Miller wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt 25 years old, Mesidor is an older prospect, but he\u2019s a pro-ready pass rusher with the tools to beat offensive tackles with his powerful hands, technique and moves. Mesidor broke out last season with 12.5 sacks and 58 pressures under the tutelage of Hall of Famer <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/jason-taylor\/\" title=\"Jason Taylor\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211036\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Taylor<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mesidor is fresh off of helping to lead Miami on a run to the National Championship Game last season. His Hurricanes came up short against the Indiana Hoosiers, but Mesidor made his draft stock skyrocket.<\/p>\n<p>Ahkeem Mesidor Has Superstar Potential Written All Over Him<\/p>\n<p>His college career was much longer than the normal player. Mesidor played in six college season, the first two coming at West Virginia and the last four with Miami.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout those six seasons, the 6-foot-3 and 280-pound defensive end racked up 208 total tackles, 34.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, and four defended passes.<\/p>\n<p>NFL.com has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/prospects\/akheem-mesidor\/32004d45-5325-0563-1424-b241e637c932\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">revealed an interesting comparison<\/a> for Mesidor at the professional level. Lance Zierlein believes that <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/minnesota-vikings\/\" title=\"Minnesota Vikings\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"210922\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a> pass rusher <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/jonathan-greenard\/\" title=\"Jonathan Greenard\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211033\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jonathan Greenard<\/a> would be a reasonable comparison.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMesidor is an instinctive, high-effort edge rusher with a fluid rush style and a deep toolbox,\u201d Zierlein wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe bursts upfield and can shrink the corner while punishing oversetting tackles with inside counters. He strings moves together with effortless mid-rush adjustments, utilizing harmonious hands and feet to carve efficient tracks into the pocket. He\u2019s a problem for guards when reduced inside, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the outside looking in, Mesidor seems to be a potentially perfect fit for the Eagles. Whether or not he\u2019s available at No. 23 remains to be seen, but he would be a strong consideration if he\u2019s still on the board.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/emasseysports\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Evan Massey<\/a> Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/emasseysports\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Evan Massey<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Eagles\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Philadelphia Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman gestures prior to the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[25,7,6,242,109,2476],"class_list":{"0":"post-846933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-eagles","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","13":"tag-philadelphiaeagles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}