{"id":283532,"date":"2026-04-24T09:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/283532\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:09:16","slug":"los-angeles-chargers-nfl-draft-2026-pick-tracker-grades-fits-and-scouting-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/283532\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Chargers NFL Draft 2026 pick tracker: Grades, fits and scouting reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Akheem<\/p>\n

The Chargers added the edge rusher they needed in Akhaeem Mesidor. Carmen Mandato \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

By Daniel Popper<\/a> and The Athletic NFL Staff<\/p>\n

April 23, 2026Updated April 24, 2026 2:04 am EDT<\/p>\n

The Athletic has live coverage of the\u00a02026 NFL Draft.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Chargers entered the 2026 NFL Draft with five picks over the three-day draft.<\/p>\n

The Chargers used their first pick to select Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor at No. 22<\/a>. They also still hold their original picks in the second through fourth rounds, as well as the sixth round. Their fifth-round pick was sent to the Baltimore Ravens in the Odafe Oweh trade last season and their seventh-round pick was shipped out ahead of the 2024 season when they acquired Elijah Molden from the Tennessee Titans. (The pick now belongs to the Miami Dolphins).<\/p>\n

Keep coming back here throughout the draft for grades and analysis of each Chargers pick.<\/p>\n

Round 1No. 22: Akheem Mesidor, edge, MiamiHow he fits<\/p>\n

The Chargers had a huge need at edge rusher after Odafe Oweh left in free agency to sign with the Washington Commanders. They re-signed Khalil Mack, and Tuli Tuipulotu is under contract. But they were missing a third edge to bolster the pass rush, particularly in known-passing situations. The Chargers\u2019 defense was at its best last season when Mack, Tuipulotu and Oweh were all on the field together. Mesidor fills that hole, and he is a player who can make an impact immediately. Mesidor is physical and violent both as a run defender and pass rusher. Mack is also entering his age-35 season. The Chargers now have an exit plan for life after Mack. \u2014\u00a0Daniel Popper<\/p>\n

Dane Brugler\u2019s analysis<\/p>\n

From Brugler\u2019s\u00a0Top 300 rankings<\/a>: Along with his urgent upfield quickness, he has aggressive, well-timed hands and a deep bag of rush moves, which allows him to vary his attack and create challenging angles for blockers. He is a physical run defender with adequate play strength, although he can get stuck on blocks and needs to continue maturing his escape maneuvers.<\/p>\n

Grade: A-Daniel Popper\u2019s analysis<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Chargers select Miami\u2019s Akheem Mesidor with No. 22 pick in 2026 NFL Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Round 2<\/p>\n

No. 55<\/p>\n

Round 3<\/p>\n

No. 86<\/p>\n

Round 4<\/p>\n

No. 123<\/p>\n

Round 6<\/p>\n

No. 204<\/p>\n

\"Connections:\"Connections:<\/p>\n

Apr 24, 2026<\/p>\n

Connections: Sports Edition<\/p>\n

Spot the pattern. Connect the terms<\/p>\n

Find the hidden link between sports terms<\/p>\n

Play today’s puzzle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chargers added the edge rusher they needed in Akhaeem Mesidor. Carmen Mandato \/ Getty Images By Daniel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,1333,50,49],"class_list":{"0":"post-283532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-la","9":"tag-la-headlines","10":"tag-la-news","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","13":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","14":"tag-los-angeles-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}