New York Jets offensive lineman Mekhi Becton is one of the team’s main storylines as the 2022 season approaches with training camp about a month away.
Becton had a promising start to his NFL career but injury and health concerns have derailed things since he was a first-round pick of the Jets in 2020.
Speaking of that draft, a change was made by Pro Football Focus.
The football analytics outlet did a redo of the 2020 draft. Using hindsight, Becton is no longer the selection. Instead, New York takes another tackle: The Cleveland Browns’ Jedrick Wills Jr.
First, here’s the breakdown from PFF:
11. NEW YORK JETS: T JEDRICK WILLS JR.
Original pick: T MEKHI BECTON
The Jets almost had to add a starting-caliber tackle in the 2020 NFL Draft. They brought in George Fant but had a glaring hole at the other tackle spot. Their original pick in this spot (Becton) showed the kind of impact he could have as an explosive, fluid athlete at his size when healthy during his rookie season. However, Becton now finds himself in a competition with Fant for the starting left tackle job following missed time due to injury in both 2020 and 2021 in addition to concerns about his conditioning. For that reason, the Jets target Wills here instead.
Wills hasn’t been the dominant run blocker in Cleveland that he was projected to be coming out of Alabama, but he’s been a middle-of-the-pack pass protector (50th percentile in PFF pass-blocking grade among qualifying tackles) since 2020 and has been more reliable overall than Becton through two seasons.
While we’ll never get an admission on such a thing, Wills could’ve been on New York’s pre-draft radar in 2020. Becton was the team’s original selection and Wills was taken off the board by Cleveland at No. 10 overall. That’s one pick ahead of where Becton went to the Jets.
Wills could have room to improve, by but comparison, he’s been steadier than Becton through the first two years of their careers. PFF graded him a 66.1 overall in 2021, a solid figure by their metrics.
Becton was essentially ungradable last season. He only played in 46 snaps before a knee injury, one originally expected to keep him out four to eight weeks, ended his season.
While potentially coming off as unfair to Becton to make this comparison, the best availability in the NFL is very well known. It’s availability, and Becton hasn’t had that.
But… it’s not all bad for Becton. At least he’s still a first rounder as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers end up taking him at No. 13 in PFF’s redo.
For those curious, here’s the breakdown on that change:
The Buccaneers miss out on the best tackle in the draft class in this exercise, leaving them with a decision on whether to stick at the position or look elsewhere. Becton isn’t without concerns entering his third season out of Louisville, but he showed enough promise during his rookie season with New York for Tampa Bay to take the risk with the 13th overall pick.
Becton moved defenders with ease in the run game as a rookie, ranking in the 94th percentile among qualifying tackles in positively-graded run plays. A healthy Becton would have made for an intriguing fit on a loaded Buccaneers’ offensive line.
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