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— Has a good get-off and can be disruptive when allowed to penetrate with impressive acceleration off the line of scrimmage.
— Shows a solid rip move he can get pressure with, especially when paired with his get-off.
— Decent movement skills for his size to develop as a pass-rusher with solid quickness, change of direction and hip fluidity. Also has decent agility to be an effective looper on line games.
— Has strength and natural leverage at the point of attack to help hold ground against one-on-one blocks against the run.
— Has the strength and violence to shed blocks when he does land his hands.
— Undersized for an NFL defensive tackle and appears to have short arms. Doesn’t have much room for growth on his frame.
— Often late with his hands, and lack of arm length limits how much extension he can get when taking on blocks.
— Plays with a narrow base and stands up out of his stance (reliant on natural leverage), which causes him issues holding up against combo blocks and double-teams.
— Drops his hands and doesn’t show much of a plan as a pass-rusher. Doesn’t get pressure if the get-off and rip-move combination doesn’t work.
— Lacks the strength and power to collapse the pocket as a bull-rusher against interior offensive linemen.
— 8 G, 25 TOT, 4.5 SK, 5 TFL
— 3-star recruit in the 2021 class, per 247Sports
— Transferred to LSU from Missouri in 2022
— Injuries: 2023 (Undisclosed, missed spring practices; Lower body, had surgery, missed 6 weeks and returned for the bowl game)
Mekhi Wingo is an interesting project as an NFL defensive tackle.
Wingo has shown a decent blend of strength and athleticism that teams might be interested in working with. He’s strong at the point of attack to hold his own as a run defender and has flashed solid movement skills to grow as a pass-rusher.
However, Wingo also lacks size for the position and appears to have shorter arms. That’s going to limit or cap his potential in the NFL, and it could cause him to slide down draft boards. Teams might opt for prospects who have similar traits and check more boxes when it comes to height, weight and length.
Schematically, the LSU product is best and can be disruptive when he’s allowed to penetrate, so playing in that type of system as a 3-technique would be his best chance at carving out a long NFL career. He has issues with his base and lacks the lower-body strength to take on double-teams and two-gap, further limiting his number of potential suitors on draft day.
GRADE: 6.0 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)
PRO COMPARISON: Myles Adams
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