Mekhi Becton proved against the Bills last week that he can play at a high level, but he’ll need to ratchet his performance up even more when he takes on 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa in Week 2.
Bosa is already known as one of the best pass rushers in the league after a rookie season in which he finished with nine sacks, 24 quarterback hurries and 80 pressures. That was just in the regular season. Bosa added 22 pressures and four sacks in the playoffs, including dominating performances against Vikings tackle Riley Reiff, Packers two-time Pro Bowler David Bakhtiari and Chiefs tackle Eric Fisher in the Super Bowl.
Nick Bosa making 4 time All-Pro David Bakhtiari look like a 3rd string tackle. #49ers pic.twitter.com/mBwZcnc5pB
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) July 15, 2020
Becton, meanwhile, played well in his NFL debut. The rookie allowed one hurry, one sack and two pressures in his 41 pass-blocking snaps. His 77.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade ranked 11th-best among tackles and eighth-best among left tackles, and he posted a 90.5 percent pass-block rate, according to ESPN.
This was all well and good for Becton, who stymied Bills veteran pass rushers Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison, but it will be a completely different game against Bosa. The second-year pass rusher is a freak on the edge and tortured vets and rookies alike in 2019. Bosa ripped apart the Panthers line for three sacks and nine pressures, which capped off a seven-week, seven-sack run for the eventual Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Bosa is a fiend on the edge who can get to the quarterback in a variety of ways with his impeccable hands and footwork. He’s especially effective going against left tackles, which he attacked 77.7 percent of the time in 2019 and 91.7 percent in Week 1. Not many tackles stopped Bosa last year and it will take a perfect game by Becton to hold the Niner back.
Becton showed why he was worth a first-round pick in his debut thanks to his great combination of size and hand technique. Becton needs to leverage his length and 6-foot-7 frame against Bosa and knock him over by engaging quickly and holding Bosa back from using any of his moves on the line. Becton can’t be too aggressive, though, as Bosa can shift around Becton and into the pocket.
Becton’s ability to stymie Bosa could be the difference in this game for the Jets. Sam Darnold doesn’t have many weapons to work with after Le’Veon Bell and Denzel Mims landed on injured reserve and Jamison Crowder won’t play in Week 2, so he’ll need as much time as possible to go through his progressions and find someone. Sacks killed the Jets in 2019 and, although the Bills only sacked Darnold three times in Week 1, he was consistently flushed out of the pocket and made poor decisions.
The 49ers defense won’t have Richard Sherman in the secondary or Dee Ford on the line, so Bosa and Arik Armstead will be the key to Robert Saleh’s plan to attack the Jets. We’ll see what Becton has to say about that.