Mekhi Becton imperfect, but mostly solid in New York Jets return (Film)

Mekhi Becton had some rust to shake off in his return from a shoulder injury, but still stockpiled the dominant reps. Run Game Dominance It is beginning to become common knowledge around the league that Becton is capable of doing incredible things in the ground game. In his first start back, he was producing dominant reps as a run blocker just as frequently as usual. Becton's work in space this season has been magnificent. It's obvious what a man with his size, athleticism, and strength can do to a defender when he is able to make contact. However, the difficult part of open-field blocking is actually making that contact. Getting your hands on a much smaller and quicker player in the open field is extremely tough, but Becton has excelled in that area. With great anticipation and feel, Becton has been fantastic at positioning himself with favorable angles on defenders in space, rarely over- or under-running his target. This has allowed him to maximize his physical tools and make powerful contact with consistency. On the crack toss, Becton pulls outside, locates the linebacker (Tremaine Edmunds), squares him up, and loads up into a two-hand punch to create enormous knockback. Becton is tripped by a defender from behind, but that takes nothing away from the rep. Edmunds is sent stumbling five yards downfield from the contact point. You're not supposed to be able to pick up defensive backs downfield at 364 pounds, but Becton has been making it look easy this year. On another crack toss, this time with a fake jet sweep motion, Becton pulls outside again. Becton targets Tre'Davious White and runs an accurate route to attack White's inside shoulder, landing a shot on him about seven yards downfield. Making contact just outside of the numbers, Becton sends White careening into the sideline. Some work from Becton in the power game here. Becton leaves the 6-technique to Ryan Griffin and climbs to the second level to take on the linebacker (Matt Milano). He maintains a strong base and uses short steps to maneuver through traffic and get a good angle on Milano. Becton strikes Milano in the upper body and blasts him nearly seven yards downfield from the point of first contact. On this outside zone play, Becton gets low, shuffles outside, fires off his back foot, and lands his right hand directly in Mario Addison's chest, sending him packing. Becton stays with the play and gives Addison another shot after he recovers, knocking him out of the picture. Perhaps the greatest compliment to Becton's game - the fact that we often need to see the All-22 angle to appreciate the full extent of his dominance. He is a cheat code. Passing Game: The Good Becton was not a huge part of the Jets' struggles in protection throughout this game. While he was tagged with four pressures allowed, those losses were hardly appalling and often could be partially be blamed on someone else. Becton made plenty of positive plays in protection to make this an overall solid performance in the passing game. Becton takes on veteran defensive end Mario Addison, who beat Becton for a sack back in Week 1. Addison lines up in a three-point stance as the wide 5-technique. Addison rushes inside and attempts to bull rush Becton, but Becton is able to halt Addison's early momentum with an effective two-hand punch, keeping his hands tight to maximize power. Becton then shows a strong anchor and holds the rush in check. The Jets run a naked bootleg to Becton's side. Becton blocks down on the 3-technique, 291-pound Quinton Jefferson. Becton sends Jefferson flying into oblivion. Tossing an opponent on the ground is not just great for creating highlight-reel material. It makes an extremely positive impact for an offense. If a defender is on the ground, he can do absolutely nothing to affect the play. Having offensive linemen who can consistently throw blocks that completely eliminate a defender's chances of disrupting a play - like the one Becton throws above - is a major difference-maker for an offense. On this next play, Becton faces off against Addison once more. Becton takes short steps to stay square to Addison, and also remains patient with his hands. Once Addison begins to engage, Becton throws his left hand and strikes Addison hard in the upper body. Becton drops his back foot, reworks his hands to establish control, and shuts down the rush. Becton is left with nobody to block as the 5-tech (Jerry Hughes) drops. Becton ranges over to help Josh Andrews with the 3-technique, blasting him into the MetLife turf. Passing Game: The Bad Becton was mostly solid in protection, but he did appear to be shaking some rust off, making mistakes a bit more often than he did over his first four games. Even so, most of the mistakes we will see below are not that bad. Andrews (left guard) pulls to the opposite side on this play, leaving Becton on an island against the 5-tech, A.J. Epenesa. Becton sets outside while Epenesa slices inside, and the battle is over at that point. Darnold takes a sack due primarily to the pressure from the other side (it's tough to expect Andrews to get across the line and block that edge rusher), but Epenesa is able to get in for the half-sack. Knowing Andrews would be vacating that area, Becton probably should not have taken an aggressive outside set. Not a good rep here from Becton even though his man does not end up affecting the play. Epenesa takes on Becton from the 9-tech position. Becton misfires on his punch after Epenesa extends his inside arm. With Becton unable to make effective contact, Epenesa pulls his arm out and rips around the edge. A win for Epenesa, but Darnold gets the ball out before he can do any damage. This next play exemplifies how massive of a liability Josh Andrews was in this game. Andrews was tagged with allowing a whopping nine pressures of his own, but his effect on the game exceeded even that. Becton clearly was not on the same page with Andrews from a chemistry standpoint, and here, Andrews finds another subtle way to botch a play. Andrews seems to get away with a false start here as he obviously gets into his set before Connor McGovern even begins to move. So, clearly, he mistimed the snap count. The refs let the play go on. Andrews' outside foot appears to disrupt Becton as he gets into his kick slide. Addison, from the 6-tech position (over the tight end), catches Becton with a poor base and bulls him into Darnold. Shaky rep from Becton with poor feet and an early punch that did not land, but an example of how Andrews threw off the camaraderie of the offensive line in addition to his individual blocking struggles. Overall, this was a nice return game from Becton. He has looked far sharper this season, but there is no doubt that playing next to Andrews in this game contributed to making him look a bit worse than he actually was. Becton already looks elite in the run game. In pass protection, Becton has certainly been solid, but he can become elite once he masters his punch timing and accuracy. You've probably heard this phrase mentioned about him a million times - "when he gets his hands on you, it's over" - and it's true. The question is, as a 6-foot-7 mammoth whose matchups will always be smaller and closer to the ground, how often can he get hands-on effectively? Watching Becton grow and thrive has been a delight this season. As great as he has been, he can get a lot better. The sky is the limit for the young star from Highland Springs, Virginia.