Getty New York Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton reacting on the sideline during an NFL game.
Mekhi Becton just put all of the cards on the table.
The former first-rounder did an extensive interview with Bob Glauber of Newsday. In the tell-all conversation, Becton had some blunt words for the New York Jets coaching staff.
Becton told Glauber that “it was a mistake” when the Jets put him at right tackle going into training camp in 2022.
“It made no sense to put me at right tackle. I hurt my right knee. That’s going to be the knee that I put the most pressure on [while backpedaling in pass protection]. I explained it [to the coaches], but no one cared.”
Mekhi Becton Sounds off on Jets Coaching Staff
“I got forced to play a position I don’t play,” Becton explained to Glauber. “I was pretty much telling them I wasn’t feeling good the whole time throughout camp and I was told I shouldn’t be complaining. Go out there and do it. I was limping throughout the whole practice, and I just took a step and my knee buckled and I got hurt again and had to get reconstructive knee surgery.”
A #Jets fan captured some video of OT Mekhi Becton getting injured on the second play of team drills. Just absolutely horrific news & I’ll be praying for the big guy: #TakeFlight #JetsCamp (h/t @jojoliotta)
Over the last two years, the former Lousiville product has only played 48 snaps due to an array of injuries.
However, the 6-foot-7 big man has taken a completely different approach this offseason. He started working with the Parisi Speed School and in just a handful of months has experienced life-changing results.
When Becton was drafted he weighed nearly 370 pounds. Last offseason he weighed in closer to 400 pounds, per Glauber.
At the beginning of his work with the Parisi Speed School, the scale read 394 pounds. Although his most recent weigh-in was a much leaner 342 pounds.
Richard Sadiv, the owner of Parisi Speed School, said the key to weight loss was changing Becton’s eating habits, reducing his caloric intake, and working out intensely five days a week for 75 minutes a day, per Glauber.
Some New Motivation for Jets OT Mekhi Becton
Earlier this offseason Becton posted a message on his Instagram that read, “I. AM. A. LEFT. TACKLE” before deleting it a short time later.
However, it was on the internet long enough for it to be seen by a few reporters and then asked to head coach Robert Saleh for his reaction.
“Go earn the left tackle,” Saleh bluntly said when asked by the media about it.
“He didn’t do anything except wake another beast up,” Becton responded to Saleh’s comments to Bob Glauber of Newsday. “It was already awakened, but he didn’t do anything except poke it more. I’m ready.”
The former Louisville product is confident that he will be the blindside protector for Aaron Rodgers in 2023.
“They’ve been putting me on the depth chart as their third-string tackle because I’ve got to earn it,” Becton told Glauber. “But I know within a week, I’m going to be starting on that left side.”
The ball is clearly in Becton’s court heading into 2023. Gang Green declined his fifth-year option so 2023 will be a contract year.
If he stays healthy and dominates the way he did in his rookie campaign, Becton will be a very rich man next offseason. However, if the injury demons continue to haunt him in 2023, the big man’s future in football will very much be in question.