Mekhi Becton Scouting Report
Overview
Mekhi Becton is a physical freak at 6’7 and 370 LBs, running a 5.11 40-yard-dash at the NFL Combine. His college tape shows a guy with exceptional athleticism, smooth feet, and a fluid mover. His tape also shows a guy who needs to learn how to play the position, relying too much on physical gifts. Despite being raw, Becton will immediately upgrade any team’s rushing attack, as his sheer force at the point of attack to create massive running lanes is the most noticeable trait on his tape. He has taken a limited number of pro-style pass sets, but the tape you do see on it is promising. Despite Mekhi Becton’s scouting report showing a lot of flaws, most of his key issues are correctable with coaching and his desire to hone his craft. Him not looking like like a not-so-natural bender is somewhat concerning though. If he does not work on honing his craft, his floor as a pass-protector is low, given he plays high, doesn’t properly utilize his long arms, and his lack of in-play awareness. If he dedicates himself, Becton has the raw tools to become one of the premier tackles in the league.
Positives:
- Rare combination of height, mass, length, and speed.
- His proportionate mass is so overwhelming, as he wins many battles on mass alone, and against quality competition
- Powerful, fluid, and athletic enough to thrive in both gap and zone blocking schemes
- Speed and fluid movement show to be a powerful asset on reaching and pulling assignments
- Handles power well
- Good feet
- Smooth getting into his pass sets and maintaining optimal position
- Strong ability to redirect and seal the inside
- Devasting power in the run game, almost throwing guys out of the way, opening up massive running lanes
- Covers a lot of ground quickly, and will cover more, once he starts learning to take bigger steps
Negatives:
- Sometimes struggles with speed on the outside due to late reaction and small steps
- Plays too tall, even for someone his height
- Doesn’t know yet how to maximize his length, hardly extending his arms against edge rushers, allowing them to get too close to him.
- Doesn’t stay locked on to defenders, relying on his ability to shove them out of the play
- Punch and hand placement need work, often shooting them too high
- Tape shows him to be a mauler, but not a finisher, too easily allowing defenders to work their way back into the play
- Good feet, but needs to take bigger steps to cover ground faster
- Sometimes lacks awareness of where he needs to be
- Often takes himself out of the play overshooting where he needs to be, losing balance
- Limited number of pro-style pass sets
Draft Projection: Picks#10-20
Where I would draft him: Picks #10-#20
Bottom Line and Career Prediction
All of his god-given traits pertaining to feet, movement, strength, speed, length, and raw athleticism lead me to believe he can easily be a top-tier left tackle (he can play either side), and listening to him in interviews, he speaks like someone who is committed to evolving his game. My gut instinct tells me he will end up being exceptional, as I can’t ignore how well all the aforementioned traits translate to an NFL field, playing left or right tackle, nor the fact he fits into any blocking scheme.
