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The first choice of the Joe Douglas era as the New York Jets general manager was Mekhi Becton No. 11 overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
He immediately stepped in and was inserted as the blindside protector. The raw power, talent, and size were evident from day one.
Becton played in 14 games as a rookie, starting 13 of them, but there were several games that he was in and then was later knocked out of due to a variety of injuries.
Despite the missed time, the 22-year old was still featured among the top 10 offensive tackles heading into 2021 according to a panel of over 50 league executives, scouts, and coaches.
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The Big Man Has Only Scratched the Surface of His Potential
On Thursday, August 26 Whistle Sports released an exclusive video in which they documented Becton and his training this offseason.
The talented former first-rounder isn’t resting on his laurels, he’s trying to take his game to another level.
Becton works with highly regarded offensive line guru Duke Manyweather of OL Masterminds. They first started working together back in December of 2019.
It would be easy for Becton to just say screw it, I’m bigger than everyone else and I’ll lean on that. Instead, he has continued to grind on top of his God-given ability.
“I’ve been working with him every day Monday through Friday,” Becton on working with Manyweather. “Duke is going to work you to death but he’s going to love you at the same time.”
Obviously, Becton is ridiculously talented, but these coaches are working with him from the ground up:
- Hips
- Core strength
- Stability
In addition to this special care, Becton has also committed to physical therapy, something he didn’t believe in much during his collegiate career.
On top of all the high-level private tutoring he is receiving from the best of the best, he is also learning in between reps from some of the NFL’s elite.
Highlighted in the video package is New Orleans Saints’ three-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Terron Armstead working on hand placement with Becton. Some of these organic interactions result in some of the biggest takeaways from these workouts.
These are masters of their craft sharing their private stash of techniques and moves that they have honed over the years.
When you add this level of technique to the former Louisville star’s overflowing potential, you have a recipe for success.
What does Becton like most about being an offensive tackle?
“I can dominate the man in front of me every play and I can take him where he doesn’t want to go and I can take him where I want him to go.”
That killer instinct mentality is displayed throughout his collegiate tape at Louisville and it’s especially apparent throughout his rookie season. Normally when you’re talking about offensive linemen on SportsCenter it’s a bad thing, but in Becton’s case, he kept creating unique highlight reels we have never seen before.
Every NFL player has been asked at one point or another, who do you model your game after?
As someone who has a lot of experience asking this question to players at every level, normally the answer you get back is pretty boring and lacks perspective. When Becton was asked that same question he provided a different answer:
“Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, Joe Thomas, and guys like that. Just the way they played and how dominant they were in both the run and pass game. Everything man: hand placement, footwork, technique, and their eyes.”
Becton Shares His Thoughts on Zach Wilson, Goals for 2021
One of the big keys this offseason for Becton heading into 2021 was getting healthy and continuing to develop.
Over the last few months, the former first-rounder has dealt with a variety of injuries including plantar fasciitis and most recently a concussion.
The fasciitis was taken care of well ahead of training camp and he was a full participant. While this past week Becton had a helmet-to-helmet hit which caused some dizziness and vomiting which ultimately took him out of the final practice of training camp vs the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.
Becton put out on Thursday morning via Instagram, “I’ll be good and ready to go” likely for Week 1 vs the Carolina Panthers.
The big man is big-time excited to play for first-year Jets head coach Robert Saleh saying “he brings energy to this building and that’s something we really needed.”
In terms of his goals for 2021, Becton has his eyes set on superstardom:
“I want to get All-Pro everything, Pro Bowl, get my quarterback Zach Wilson Rookie of the Year. He’s a great quarterback man, Wilson does things that make you say, how did he just do that? I just can’t wait for the world to see it honestly. I’m excited for him.”
Although his expectations for himself pail in comparison to Duke Manyweather’s expectations for Becton:
“Mekhi’s main motivation is proving the doubters wrong. Becton is a special player and in terms of his trajectory over the next four to five years I really want to see him become the most dominant linemen in the NFL. That’s truly up to Mekhi because he definitely has the potential to be the best ever.”
Make sure you check out the full episode via the great crew over at Whistle Sports to learn more about Becton, his training regiment, and the cool advancements of technology that have brought him to another level.
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