An apparatus includes a communication interface configured to receive a compressed video bitstream and a processor operably coupled to the communication interface. The processor is configured to determine, for a vertex in the compressed video bitstream, one or more vertex neighbors based on a signaled limit to a number of the one or more vertex neighbors. The processor is also configured to identify, based on a vertex motion vector (VMV) identifier signaled in the compressed video bitstream, a VMV predictor from among a plurality of VMV predictors to use for the vertex. The processor is also configured to reconstruct a mesh frame based on the determined one or more vertex neighbors and the identified VMV predictor.