Mekhi Wingo's Leadership, Rush Ability Makes Him Perfect Fit for Lions

Mekhi Wingo faced a difficult decision in his final year at LSU.

Normally a reliable defensive tackle for the Tigers, Wingo had missed five games with a groin injury and had to choose between two paths ahead of the team's bowl game.

The traditional route for emerging NFL prospects has become sitting out of the team's bowl game in an effort to avoid injury and prepare for the Draft. However, Wingo chose the alternative route despite dealing with an injury previously during the 2023 season.

Ultimately, he decided to suit up one final time with his teammates and play in the team's 35-31 ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Wisconsin.

The decision to do so exemplifies his leadership. He was recognized for this quality with the team's decision to assign him the No. 18 jersey, which is given annually to a player who embodies the team's biggest characteristics, ahead of the season. In turn, it makes him a perfect fit for the culture being built by the Lions' organization under Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell.

“Yes, sir, absolutely. That’s the type of guy that I am. Being at number 18, being that leader, I had the injury early throughout the year, didn’t feel like I got my full 18 season," Wingo said after being drafted by the Lions in the sixth round. "And of course, I could’ve just packed up, declared, and did this, but it really got to me watching my team lose a few games with me being on the sideline. So, once I had my surgery, I just rehabbed my butt off and made it an emphasis to get back on the field and be with my guys one last time.”

The leadership trait in itself is enticing for a team that has established the desire for cultural fits. Campbell and Holmes have been adamant that not every free agent or Draft prospect is suitable for their team.

It's even further exemplified by the fact that Wingo began his career at Missouri. After playing one season at Missouri, he transferred to LSU where he was a 2022 third-team All-American and had a standout career.

However, a further glance indicates that Wingo offers scheme flexibility and versatility that will be an asset for the Lions' defensive line going forward.

"I think his character speaks for itself. His football character shows on film too, the way that he plays," Holmes said. "But the role – and that’s a good question – because that’s kind of what I had to get to. I originally was just looking at him as purely just a defensive tackle that was just going to be playing inside. I was like, ‘Man, I’m not sure.’ But when I kept watching him, his rush ability really started to come to light. I kind of put him in a different box – a little bit like when we talked about (Lions DL Josh) Paschal when Paschal came out. It’s like, ‘Okay, can he play on the edge on first and second down, and can he do some inside rush?’

"Wingo, he’s got a lot of good stuff on tape as an edge rusher actually, surprisingly. His sub-rush is pretty impressive. Not saying that he can’t play base downs inside because he can do that as well, but when you put him in that specialized category, or that position – whether it’s more of a big end or more of an elephant that can do some interchangeable things, that’s kind of where he's standing. When we saw him in that light, that’s kind of when he became more attractive to us."

Wingo is viewed as undersized after measuring six-foot at the Combine. However, he carries that narrative as a chip on his shoulder.

The biggest example of success for undersized defenders has been Aaron Donald, who carved a Hall of Fame career despite being viewed as traditionally undersized.

As a result, Wingo has a roadmap for how he plans to attack the criticism surrounding his size. He fell to Lions in the sixth round, but hopes to be an impact player using extra motivation to overcome his shortcomings.

“How I would make up for the lack of size is I have to do the ordinary things, extraordinary things extremely well," Wingo explained. "I have to have better eyes than the guy that’s 6 (feet) 5 (inches) that might fall into a play and my hand placement has to be better, but I’ve been undersized my whole life. It’s nothing that just happened, so I’ve just got to continue to work with the habits that I work with now and hopefully, it’ll lead me to have a successful career.”