The moment smacked of “The Blind Side.” All it needed was Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and their freckle-faced Hollywood son, S.J., to capture it on his video recorder.
In a game last November, Louisville mammoth left tackle Mekhi Becton exploded out of his stance and staggered the man in front of him with a hand punch to his chest. One would have sufficed, but Becton stayed after him and delivered another blow. By now, the Syracuse defensive end — Kingsley Jonathan — was going backward as if on roller skates.
Becton finished him with one last shove at the sideline (a possible late hit), launching him into the Louisville bench area — and out of the screen shot. The one-man demolition, which occurred on a running play in Louisville’s 56-34 victory, covered more than 15 yards, from first contact to last jolt.
“We have a monster,” Louisville offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford told his wife on the field after the game.
Now the 6-foot-7, 364-pound player is a green giant, drafted No. 11 overall by the New York Jets — a big man with a larger-than-life reputation.
Becton tossed around so many defenders in college that he made frequent appearances in “Card Tape” — a coach-created video that features exceptional plays from the Cardinals’ practices and games. Offensive linemen aren’t supposed to show up in highlight reels, but Becton transcends the norm.
Of the approximately 4,500 players who have participated the past 15 scouting combines, Becton and former LSU tackle Herman Johnson (2009) were tied for the second-heaviest, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Former Georgia Tech defensive tackle T.J. Barnes weighed 369 in 2013. Unlike Johnson and Barnes, Becton didn’t run like a super heavyweight. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash (5.11 seconds) for any player 350 pounds or more.
Becton always possessed rare athletic ability for a man his size, even in the eighth grade when he was 220 pounds and begged his coach to play tight end, but he didn’t become a complete player until he developed a mean streak. There were signs at Highland Springs High School in Virginia, just outside of Richmond, but it didn’t click for him until his final season at Louisville.
“The guy moves people like furniture,” Jets assistant general manager Rex Hogan said.
The Jets fell in love with Becton last fall when area scout Johnathon Stigall watched him play in person and gave him a high grade in his report. It was so high that it caught the attention of general manager Joe Douglas, who punched up video of Becton’s season-opening performance against Notre Dame. He was impressed. National scout Dom Green and senior football advisor Phil Savage made cross-check trips to Louisville, confirming Becton’s special traits.
The Jets didn’t meet him until a formal interview at the scouting combine, where team officials punched up some of his plays from last season — including his “Blind Side” moment against Syracuse. Jets coach Adam Gase was taken aback by his mere presence. Mekhi, caramba!
“When he walks in a room,” Gase said on ESPN’s “Flight Deck” podcast, “you feel it.”
Becton wasn’t regarded as an elite prospect in 2018, when he admittedly struggled through his sophomore season. Louisville changed its coaching staff, and he connected with Ledford, who convinced him to add a little nasty to his game.
“He was a big, powerful individual, but he didn’t finish [blocks],” Ledford said. “He wasn’t going all the way through to the echo of the whistle. That was something I harped on him about because he’s got so much power, so much strength that he could be even more dominant.”
Becton improved his leverage by learning how to play out of a three-point stance, something he didn’t have to do under the previous staff. He also adapted nicely to the Cardinals’ wide-zone blocking scheme, one that requires the linemen to be athletic because they have to make second-level blocks and cut off backside defenders. Initially, Ledford had doubts about whether Becton was too big to get where he needed to be. Those were erased after one practice.
“We’ve got nothing to worry about,” Ledford told Cardinals coach Scott Satterfield afterward.
Jets hit it out of the park with this pick. Mekhi Becton will protect Sam Darnold and will demolish DE and LBs in the running game. This massive man can and will bring an intensity to this offense line room!!
— Maurice Jones-Drew (@MJD) April 24, 2020
Becton has weighed as much as 389, but his body fat never has exceeded 20%, according to Ledford. His mother, Semone, is a caterer, which might explain some things. Becton raves about his mother’s soul food, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and collard greens. As a kid, he was so big that he had to bring his birth certificate to games because opposing parents questioned his age.
Born one month prematurely at five pounds, 11 ounces, Becton did some serious catching up. It’s in his genes. His father, Jerome, a former semi-pro and Arena League lineman, is 6-foot-5. By the eighth grade, Mekhi already was 6-foot-3. That’s when Highland Springs varsity football coach Loren Johnson met him for the first time.
“He walks in, tilts his head a little as he walks through the door,” said Johnson, recalling that day. “He reaches his hand out to you, he shakes your hand and his hand swallows my hand. You kind of get a feel this kid is going to be pretty big when all is said and done.”
Becton expressed a desire to play wide receiver or tight end.
“It was comical,” Johnson said. “But also confident.”
The coach made it clear: You’re a lineman, son.
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Check out highlights of former Louisville offensive lineman Mekhi Becton, who’ll be someone to look out for in the upcoming draft.
By his senior year, Becton had developed into a four-star recruit, a “gentle giant” (Johnson’s words) known for a big smile and his “yes, ma’am; no, ma’am” manners. He dazzled the locals with his basketball skills (reverse dunks!) and grew his reputation at a summer football camp when he knocked the best defensive end to his knees with one strike.
The seminal moment in his high school career occurred in the regional championship game against rival Lloyd C. Bird High School in Chesterfield, Virginia. Becton’s team trailed at halftime 20-14 and he was fired up.
According to Johnson, Becton approached him on the sideline and grabbed his shirt.
“Coach, man, do you want to win?” Becton asked.
“Yeah, I want to win.”
“Well, run the ball behind me the rest of the game.”
They ran the ball behind Becton on about 90% of the running plays in the second half, Johnson said, and Highland Springs won 34-20. Commenting on their halftime exchange, Johnson said Becton wasn’t disrespectful, just competitive. He appreciated the fire from his gentle giant.
At Louisville, Becton started at right tackle as a freshman (committed eight penalties) and wasn’t satisfied with his sophomore performance. (“It was just bad film,” he said at the scouting combine.) He ballooned to 389 pounds in January 2019, before refocusing and crushing a nutrition/conditioning program that resulted in a 25-pound loss. He dominated the ACC and was named the conference’s best offensive lineman.
He trained for the NFL draft in Dallas, where he worked under offensive line guru Duke Manyweather, whose nutritionist introduced Becton to a 6,000-calorie-a-day diet. That’s a ton of calories, but a study of his metabolism determined he wasn’t eating enough to replace the calories he burned every day in workouts.
“I figured I needed to eat more,” said Becton, who hopes to play in the 350-355 range. “Once I started to eat more, the weight started falling off.”
Talk about incongruity.
He weighed 364 at the scouting combine, where his drug test was flagged. That prompted a “deep dive” into his background, Douglas said. His vetting of Becton included a 45-minute conversation with Johnson, who vouched for his former player’s character.
For historical perspective, the heaviest player in Jets history is believed to be defensive tackle Chester McGlockton, the former Oakland Raiders star who finished his career with a listed weight of 371 pounds in 2003.
Publicly, the Jets haven’t assigned a position to Becton, but the expectation is he will start at left tackle, charged with protecting quarterback Sam Darnold‘s blind side. The Jets believe he will make an immediate impact as a run-blocker because he’s nimble enough to excel on outside-zone plays and strong enough to win on gap (man-blocking) runs. They love the way he finishes, the way he tries to punish opponents.
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Former Louisville offensive tackle Mekhi Becton pushes a truck in preparation of the 2020 NFL draft.
“I think my demeanor is real nasty,” Becton said. “I like to see the man on the ground stay on the ground. When I finish him, I like to get on top.”
It will take time to reach his potential as a pass-protector, mainly because the NFL’s pass-rushers are so skilled and smart. Pro Football Focus, the analytics-based website, said Becton benefited from Louisville’s heavy reliance on screens and play-action passes. As a result, he had 73 true pass sets — and allowed eight pressures on those. Ledford, the Cards’ line coach, disputed the stats, claiming his former pupil “never once struggled” in pass protection.
For all his size and skill, those close to Becton say his most admirable trait is his humble spirit. When he visits his old high school, he still checks in at the front office to get a visitor’s pass.
“He’s the biggest kid in the school and everybody knows who he is, but he doesn’t do anything like, ‘I’m Mekhi Becton, I can get away with it,'” Johnson said. “He does everything with the intent of doing it the right way.”
No short cuts for the big man — unless he’s on the field. There, he goes wherever he wants.