The Jets hope first-round pick Mekhi Becton will be their franchise left tackle for the next 10+ years.
Players and coaches have been impressed so far by the 6’7″, 363-pounder.
Veteran running back Frank Gore, who’s entering his 16th season, says he hasn’t seen a player like Becton before.
“He’s just different man,” Gore said. “He’s one of the biggest guys out there. … He can move. I watched him when he got drafted, just watching him play basketball and watching him slam guys into the ground. Even out here, moving pretty well. To be that big, that’s crazy.”
Linebacker Blake Cashman found himself going one-on-one with Becton.
“The first thing that stands out is just his size. Today in practice, I had to come down and take him on one-on-one. Let’s just say that didn’t go well for me.”
Linebacker Neville Hewitt found himself in the same situation:
“He caught me,” Hewitt said. “I tried to get into the gap and he came off the ball pretty good. I was pretty impressed. He’s a pretty big fella. … If you see him coming, you better go at him because if you don’t, he’s going to get you. You better go at him.”
Jets head coach Adam Gase said it’s rare to see a player Becton’s size move the way he does.
“When other players are talking about his size, his length, his strength, that’s when you know it’s real,” Gase said. “You know it’s not something that a coach or scout is just talking about just because of his height, weight, speed and measurable-type things. He applies it to the field. It’s difficult for guys to figure out how to rush him in the pass game and then in the run game it’s hard to hard to move them back, you don’t see much penetration, that line flattens out pretty fast.”
Jets general manager Joe Douglas made it a priority to fix the offensive line this offseason, and Becton’s play will go a long way in saying whether or not there was improvement.
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