Mekhi Wingo, DL LSU: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Wingo was a three-star recruit from De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, Mo. in the class of 2021

LSU defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo missed a large chunk of his junior season, but he’s already posted enough quality tape to warrant a top 100 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Mekhi Wingo, DL LSU: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior defensive tackle from St. Louis, Mo.

Background: Wingo was a three-star recruit from De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, Mo. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 612 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 601 for On3.com. Wingo was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star for ESPN with a 76 grade out of 100. He transferred from Missouri to LSU for the 2022 season. As a senior, he recorded 54 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and five sacks to help his team finish as the 6a State runner-up. Wingo was the 6A Defensive Player of the Year and the Metro Catholic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He also earned First Team 6A All-State honors from the Missouri Football Coaches Association.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed spring practice time in 2023 with shoulder and core muscle injuries, required season-ending surgery for a lower body injury in 2023

Awards: 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team, 2022 Second Team All-SEC, 2022 Third Team All-American (AP), 2023 Team Captain

Pros: Wore 18 for LSU, not penalized since 2021, flashes of an instant-win explosive first step, impressive speed, upper body strength, active and violent hands, hands pack some pop, firm hand placement to establish leverage, hand placement allows him to access the lineman’s chest, natural leverage and hand placement to pry up the lineman’s pad level, impressive bend for an interior player, agility and change of direction are positives for interior players, showed off agility and dip chasing Jordan Travis (2023), looks linemen off with head fakes, gets skinny to shoot gaps, rip move, long-arm move, speed to power, swim move, profiles well for stunts, tries to get hands in passing lanes, good recognition of RB screens, too explosive to reach or down block consistently, hand placement helps him establish himself at the point of attack, flashes of pushing linemen into the backfield vs. the run, escapes blocks and redirects quickly, separates and flows down the line to the ball, motor runs hot in pursuit, closing burst

Cons: Undersized interior lineman, arm length doesn’t appear to be an advantage, pad level rises quickly, pass rush arsenal is limited, not enough developed pass rush moves to take advantage of his traits, lack of counters and chained moves, doesn’t have the counters to finish rush reps, never been a high-volume pass rush producer, some colliding with teammates on stunts, not going to beat double teams in the run or pass game, inconsistent anchor to stop the run, displaced at the point of attack against the power run, examples of being displaced or sealed by one-on-one blocks

Overview: Wingo played everywhere from 1-tech out to 4-tech for LSU in his shortened 2023 season. He even took limited snaps at 0-tech. Wingo played at 4 and 5-tech more often in 2022 than he did this year. The Missouri transfer wore No. 18 in 2023, which LSU only hands out to a “player who represents the traits and spirit associated with a successful program,” as head coach Brian Kelly put it. Wingo has an explosive first step that leads to some instant wins as a pass rusher. His first step makes him too quick for linemen to down block or reach block consistently. Wingo showcases impressive speed, quality bend and looseness in his hips, and above-average agility and change of direction for an interior lineman. He has excellent upper body strength that he channels through active and violent hands. The Missouri native’s hands lack elite pop but pack enough to knock linemen backward or off balance occasionally. His hand placement is accurate and firm inside the lineman’s chest to help him establish leverage and pry up the lineman’s pad level. Wingo possesses a natural leverage advantage at his size but sometimes fails to maximize his pad level and gets too vertical. As a pass rusher, the junior gets skinny to shoot gaps and uses his athletic profile to build momentum on stunts. He uses rip, long-arm, and swim moves and converts speed to power. Wingo tries to get his hands in passing lanes when he fails to get home. He shows good play recognition skills to quickly peel off for running back or wide receiver screens. Wingo uses his hand placement to establish himself at the point of attack against the run. There are flashes of him pushing linemen into the backfield to disrupt run plays. Despite lacking high-end arm length, Wingo quickly escapes blocks and redirects to the ball. His motor runs hot, and he finishes plays with excellent closing burst. Wingo is an undersized interior lineman with limited arm length. This makes him more of a scheme or role-specific player. He lacks a diverse set of pass rush moves and hasn’t developed enough to take advantage of his traits. He doesn’t chain counters off of his initial moves and struggles to revive his rush. The former three-star recruit needs significant development to become a high-volume pass rusher. He doesn’t offer much against double teams in the run or pass game. Wingo’s anchor is inconsistent at the point of attack, and there are examples of him being displaced or sealed by one-on-one blocks.

Overall, Wingo is an undersized, explosive defensive lineman who is maximized in a penetrating role that takes advantage of his first step. He lacks the arsenal of pass rush moves and counters to generate a high volume of pressures but has the tools to become a more consistent player in the NFL. His lack of mass will limit his role and alignment-versatility along the interior.

Role & Scheme Fit: Penetrating 3-tech/3-4 defensive end

Round Projection: Third Round

Size: 6'1", 295 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 12-12-23