An "Absolute Warrior" On Edge Could Intrigue Eagles, Despite His Age

He’s old, yes. He’s also very, very good, and that may force teams to look the other way if a birth certificate is presented to them. Maybe the Eagles wouldn’t mind an “old” pass rusher. Heck, they called Brandon Graham out of retirement last fall at 37. That’s how desperate they were for a pass rusher at the time.

Graham wants to play this year at age 38. So maybe 25-year-old Akheem Mesidor might not look so bad when the draft revs up from Pittsburgh on April 23 through April 25. Relatively speaking.

For several reasons, it feels like the Eagles will go heavy on offense in the draft, especially an offensive lineman in the first round, followed by a tight end in the second. Unless…the Eagles go defense in the first round, which would make it five straight years they’ve gone in that direction in the first round of the draft. The last time they went offense to open their draft was 2022, when they traded up for DeVonta Smith at No. 10.

That’s where the University of Miami’s Mesidor could come into play. Despite his age, NFL draft Daniel Jeremiah has him ranked at No. 18 on the first release of his top 50 college prospects.

“He’s one of my favorite players in the whole draft,” said Jeremiah during a two-hour conference call on Thursday afternoon leading up to this week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “He plays outside; he plays inside. It’s just not fair with him against college guards. He just kills them in there.

"Violent, club moves. He’s got knockback power. He can widen and bull on the edge. You’ll see push-pull moves. This guy never stops. There’s just never a breath you can take when you’re trying to block Akheem Mesidor. He’s an absolute warrior.”

Age Just A Number For Akheem Mesidor?

Mesidor spent six years in college, his first two at West Virginia University before transferring to Miami for another four years. It was in South Florida where he was tutored by the Hurricanes’ defensive end/pass rush coach Jason Taylor, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017 after 15 seasons in the league.

Last year was Mesidor’s breakout season, with 12.5 sacks for the national-champion runners-up to Indiana. Jeremiah said he is a better version than Nic Scourton, who went in the second round last year.

If the Eagles want him, they might have to grab him with the 23rd overall pick rather than wait until they’re on the clock again at No. 54. With somebody who is 25, however, that could be possible, though Jeremiah doesn’t think Mesidor’s age will hurt his stock too much.

“That’s a conversation that I think teams are gonna have to have, but I go back over the last few years and see guys who are older, and obviously the quarterback position is different, but Tyler Shough, Bo Nix, I don’t think there’s any regrets with those teams with those picks," he said.

“I look at a guy like Craig Woodson with the Patriots, who’s a little bit olde,r and he’s plug-and-play and played great. Payton Wilson, linebacker for the Steelers, is a little bit older. I don’t think they have any regrets there, either. I think the age thing in years past may be a bigger issue, but in this particular draft we have a lot of 24- and 25-year-olds, and I think teams are gonna look beyond that.”

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