Akheem Mesidor headed into the 2026 NFL draft knowing that every front office in the league had the same conversation about him, the one about him being too old. Ten picks go by. Then twenty. Then, finally, the Los Angeles Chargers are on the clock at 22, and GM Joe Hortiz — staring at a defensive depth chart with a gaping hole where Odafe Oweh used to be — makes the call. The 25-year-old becomes the first Canadian player in history to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Now, he walks onto a roster that online betting sites genuinely make contenders in 2026. The latest odds from Sportaza online sportsbook make the Chargers a narrow +185 second-favorite to win the AFC West next season, with Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs - a team that Jim Harbaugh's men beat twice last season - installed as the +165 frontrunners.
The Journey So Far
Mesidor arrived at West Virginia as a three-star recruit, but it was his transfer portal move to Miami after his sophomore year that truly forced scouts to sit up and take notice. His first season with the Hurricanes was sensational as he led the team in tackles (38, 10.5 TFL), and then 2023 arrived and took everything.
A foot injury wiped out the entire season. For a player whose draft stock was already overshadowed by age concerns, this was the worst possible scenario. When he came back in 2024, Miami moved him inside to defensive tackle mid-season out of something close to desperation, but he handled it with a minimum of fuss, still racking up tackles and matching his 5.5 sacks from 2022.
But the highlight, without question, was 2025. He finished top five in all of FBS in sacks, tackles for loss, and pressures — 55 total pressures, 42 hurries — and earned a PFF overall grade of 92.5, third among 852 qualified edge rushers nationally. His 91.7 pass-rush grade was elite. His 90.5 run-defence grade was third nationally, which matters enormously, because it means offensive coordinators can't simply run away from him.
His explosive edge tandem alongside fellow first-rounder Rueben Bain saw the Canes reach a shock CFP final, upsetting the defending champion Ohio State in the quarterfinals in one of college football's all-time great upsets. Mesidor was magnificent throughout the run, racking up 17 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks against four of the best offences in America, proving he was the man for the big occasion. Unfortunately for him, Fernando Mendoza and his destiny-bound Hoosiers would have too much to handle in the final, but not before Mesidor had proven just how good he truly was.
A Franchise's Calculated Gamble
The Chargers swooped at 22nd overall, age concerns be damned. And Mesidor knows that he will have to deliver from day one if he is to make an impression on a roster already used to delivering.
The Californians finished 2025 at 11-6, won five of six in the AFC West, including beating Mahomes both in Brazil and at Arrowhead, before ultimately succumbing to a second straight wildcard round exit, this time at the hands of the Patriots after a suffocating evening in Foxborough. Outside their division, the Chargers were a .500 team that lost four games by 13 or more points. Jim Harbaugh is in win-now mode, and the roster reflects it — Tyler Biadasz from Washington, Cole Strange from Miami, Keaton Mitchell, Charlie Kolar, and Dalvin Tomlinson added in the offseason.
The bookies have set the win total at 10.5; ESPN's Mike Clay projects 9.5. The schedule projects as the ninth-toughest in the league, with four 2025 playoff teams at home. Denver won the AFC West last year. This is not a team with margin to waste.
Tuli Tuipulotu finished sixth in the NFL with 13 sacks in 2025 — the best season of his career — and heads into the final year of his contract. His extension negotiations will dominate the offseason conversation. Khalil Mack remains in the mix for depth. But the honest truth is that Odafe Oweh is in Washington now, and the Chargers needed a genuine second edge rusher capable of pushing a defensive front from functional to frightening. Mesidor is that man.
What the Tape Actually Shows
Sports Illustrated put it plainly: it would be "a tad concerning" if Mesidor didn't make an immediate impact, given his age and the directness of the Chargers' need. That's the weight of first-round draft capital spent on someone this ready. He arrives at SoFi Stadium — the site of next season's Super Bowl LXI, no less — with a pass-rushing arsenal that's second to none: technically polished, multidimensional, relentless. A 90.5 PFF run-defence grade means he plays every down, not just third-and-long.
The long-term vision is explicit: Mesidor is the heir apparent to Khalil Mack, the cornerstone of Los Angeles's pass rush for years to come. But what of his rookie year? Will he hit double-digit sacks in 2026? Does a contract-year Tuipulotu elevate under the pressure of playing beside genuine competition, or does the extension uncertainty become a distraction? Can a first-round pairing of Mesidor and Tuipulotu turn the Chargers from a team that lost 16-3 in the Wild Card into one that wins playoff games in January?
The age sceptics may be right. The tape says otherwise. Either way, Ottawa now has a first-round pick in the NFL, and the Chargers are prepared to mount an all-out assault on the AFC mountaintop.