The New York Giants are in the market for a new offensive tackle and are likely to take one in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft where four quality options are available.
However, that crop of talent took a bit of a hit on Friday with reports that Louisiana’s Mekhi Becton had a drug test flagged at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
Multiple players had drug tests flagged at the NFL Combine & among those is projected top 10 pick #Louisville OT Mekhi Becton, I’m told. Teams were made aware of this. Becton had no failed drug tests in college. Per new CBA rules, he goes into Stage 1 for no more than 60 days.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 18, 2020
As Ian Rapoport notes, under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement rules, Becton’s flagged test isn’t a huge deal, but it may be something that gives team some pause. After all, having a test flagged during the biggest interview of your entire life doesn’t exactly reflect well despite the otherwise insignificant nature of it.
Becton is considered the biggest boom/bust offensive tackle prospect in the draft. He has a remarkably high ceiling and could be the next great at the position, but he could also be the next Ereck Flowers, which the Giants are hoping to avoid.
Leading up to the draft, Becton hasn’t generated much buzz in New York, where Alabama’s Jedrick Wills Jr. and Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs seem to be leading the way, but that could be little more than a smokescreen.
If so, might this flagged test change things? That seems unlikely, but we’ve witnessed similar issues drastically impact a player’s draft stock, so we’ll just have to wait and see if it does the same for Becton.
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