Akheem Mesidor: Why The Bears Will Take Him In The 1st Round

When was the last time the Chicago Bears drafted a genuinely good edge rusher? This is a debatable topic. Some will say it was Leonard Floyd, but he didn’t play his best seasons until after leaving. Alex Brown was a pleasant surprise as a 4th round pick, but he never had more than seven sacks in a season. Alonzo Speller had a couple of solid years but was never considered a top guy. You’d have to go all the way back to 1989 when the Bears selected Trace Armstrong to find somebody who became good. Since then, it’s been a mix of bad and disappointing. Akheem Mesidor can change that.

The defensive end has traveled a long road to where he is today. He started his college career in West Virginia, had two decent seasons, and then transferred to Miami. After a strong junior year in 2022, his progress was stunted by injuries. Finally, he had a genuine stellar season in 2025, helping the Hurricanes to their first national championship game since 2002. There is a good chance he’ll be on the board when the Bears pick 25th this April. Here’s why they will draft him.

Akheem Mesidor stats to know:

• 35.5 sacks (6 seasons)
• 52.5 tackles for a loss
• 5 forced fumbles
• 208 tackles

Name	College	Pass rush win rate
Reuben Bain	Miami	24%
Romello Height	Texas Tech	21.8%
David Bailey	Texas Tech	21.6%
Akheem Mesidor	Miami	21.2%
Cashius Howell	Texas A&M	19.9%
R Mason Thomas	Oklahoma	19.8%
Zion Young	Missouri	17.2%
T.J. Parker	Clemson	15.5%

Strengths:

• The hottest motor in the class. Completely unrelenting in pursuit of the ball.
• Diverse ways to win, able to blend finesse or power depending on the situation and the matchup.
• Excellent closing speed. A true finisher.

This play is a perfect encapsulation of why Mesidor is a nightmare. He gets a great burst off the snap. The tight end uses a chip to slow him down. Sensing there is no time for a setup move, Mesidor instead uses his significant power to drive the right tackle back into the quarterback. While he doesn’t get the sack, he was the one who completely blew that play up. His ability to think and adjust on the fly based on how Florida tried blocking him is nothing short of impressive.

• High intelligence and awareness. He rarely overpursues and is good at finding the football.
• Violent hands that always work to keep him free.
• Can set the edge against the run and makes strong efforts in tackling.
• Instructed by Hall of Famer Jason Taylor.

Weaknesses:

• Age will be the main talking point. He turns 25 this year.
• Overall size is average at 6’3″, 265 lbs.
• Suffered recurring foot injuries in college.
• Hard to gauge how much of his success came from playing on a loaded front.
• Contact balance is subpar, which leads him to ending up on the turf too often.

Bears fans will be reminded of: Justin Houston

Houston was a 3rd round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011. He was 6’3″ and 270 lbs, having fallen in the draft due to marijuana concerns and inconsistency against the run. However, no one could dispute his natural affinity for rushing the passer. He had that same mix of burst, violent hands, and strong closing speed that made him impossible to block at times. Despite the size concerns, he finished his career with 112 sacks and was selected to four Pro Bowls. It was a borderline Hall of Fame resume.

Would you have selected Houston in the 1st round if you’d felt he could achieve such heights? Of course. The best part is that Akheem Mesidor has the same ability but probably an even hotter motor. There is no off switch with him. Find him matchups, and he’ll create havoc just like Houston did. It’s worth mentioning that Poles was with the Chiefs when they drafted Houston. It isn’t hard to imagine he’ll see similarities.

Why Dennis Allen will sign off on him

Sweat and Booker played well together down the stretch. Unfortunately, the truth is neither of them is what you would call dynamic. They give offenses trouble in spurts but are not a constant pest. Dennis Allen’s best defenses were the ones where he had somebody like that. It was Von Miller in Denver and Cameron Jordan in New Orleans. Trey Hendrickson also briefly filled that void. Mesidor has that same mix of natural pass rushing instincts and bottomless well of effort the best ones have.

It comes down to whether he and the team brass can overlook the age issue. Plenty of good pass rushers entered the NFL at an older age. Aaron Schobel, Jason Babin, Brian Robison, Bruce Irvin, Ezekiel Ansah, Markus Golden, Matt Judon, Byron Young, and Will McDonald all debuted at 24 years old. There is no reason to think it will affect whether Mesidor has a productive NFL career. Besides, his extensive college experience means he’ll be able to play immediately, which the Bears will need as Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner return from injuries.