Top 2026 NFL Draft Prospect Predicted to Fall for a Wild Reason

There are a few positions that are loaded with talent in the 2026 NFL draft, and edge-rusher is one of them.

Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech's David Bailey are the elite players in the group, but just below them are six other pass-rushers - Auburn's Keldrick Faulk, Miami's Akheem Mesidor, Clemson's T.J. Parker, Texas A&M's Cashius Howell, Missouri's Zion Young, UCF's Malachi Lawrence - ranked in the second tier who could be first-round picks.

While all seemingly deserving of a Round 1 selection, Blake Brockermeyer of CBS Sports believes one of those players could experience a draft day fall for reasons outside of his control.

"I’m a big fan of Akheem Mesidor and think he’s the most NFL-ready pass rusher in the class and could be an impact rookie," Brockermeyer wrote. "Still, I could see him slipping for several reasons. He’ll be 25 as a rookie and had a foot injury in 2023 that cost him time.

"He doesn’t have the ideal frame or length teams covet on the edge, and he lacks consistent speed-to-power conversion, which is critical at the next level. Mesidor was a great player and teammate at Miami, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a team overthinks the measurables."

Though Bain gets most of the attention, Mesidor was an equally disruptive force on the other side of the Hurricanes' defensive line.

He led Miami with 17.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles, and he ranked second to Bain in pressures (67), hurries (50), and pass-rush win-rate (20.8%), per Pro Football Focus.

Mesidor is considered undersized by most NFL standards for an elite edge-rusher, but he has strong counter moves to beat offensive lineman off the break, he has a motor that doesn't stop, and he has natural instincts that should translate well to the pro game.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 10:50 PM.