Mekhi Becton convincingly wins matchup against Chargers’ elite EDGE duo (Film)

Facing the stiff challenge of Los Angeles' Joey Bosa/Melvin Ingram duo, Mekhi Becton rose to the occasion and thoroughly dominated the elite pairing. Mekhi Becton has already faced his share of top-notch EDGE talent this season - Nick Bosa, Justin Houston, Bradley Chubb, Frank Clark - but from the very beginning, the most daunting matchup on his rookie schedule always seemed to be the Chargers' dynamic tandem of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. The two electric rushers move all over the line of scrimmage, switching sides on a regular basis and sometimes even lining up beside one another, creating nightmarish scenarios for a young tackle. A duel against this tandem promised to be a tremendous measuring stick for Becton's progress. Joe Douglas and the Jets have to be thrilled with how things transpired. Becton not only held his own, but he won the matchup in convincing fashion. Over 34 protection snaps, Becton was credited with zero pressures allowed, becoming the first left tackle to do that against the Chargers this season. In addition, he earned the best run blocking grade (82.5) at Pro Football Focus among all tackles (both left and right) in Week 11. Let's take a look at the film behind a marvelous performance that brought Becton one step closer to cementing his status as a future superstar. Passing game For most, the main concern regarding Becton coming into the NFL was how he would up in one-on-one protection reps against high-level rushers. At Louisville, he benefited from an offense that heavily utilized play action, motion, and bootlegs to make life easy on the offensive line, minimizing the number of true one-on-one battles they had to take on. With so few reps on tape of Becton handling legitimate pass sets that mirrored what he would be asked to take on in the NFL, it seemed like he would need a year or two to fully develop in that phase of the game. That could not be further from the truth. While he has not been perfect and has plenty of untapped potential left to unlock, Becton has looked incredibly refined for a rookie tackle coming out of an offense like Louisville's, especially at his unusually large frame. He's shown the footwork, hand technique, and overall fundamental soundness of a veteran, combining those tools with his raw physical gifts to flash top-tier pass protection upside. In Los Angeles, Becton put plenty of reps on tape that encapsulate just how good he could become in protection. On this play, Becton is left on an island against Bosa, who lines up at the 5-tech defensive end position with his hand in the dirt. Bosa attempts to sell a rip move to the inside and convert it into an outside spin, but Becton is all over it, mirroring him step-for-step. Becton wins the rep and Flacco gets time to deliver a 26-yard completion to Chris Herndon. This is the exact type of situation where many thought Becton would struggle, but he has held up in these scenarios more often than not. Excellent rep. Here, Becton battles Ingram, who is standing up on the edge. Becton using his absurd length to gain complete control of Ingram and send him up the arc, keeping the pocket completely clean. Ingram looks to set up a cross-chop on Becton, throwing his inside hand to draw Becton's punch and clubbing with outside hand. Becton swats Ingram's inside hand down and then works his hands into Ingram's hips, sending him flying up the field. Ingram sells outside before going into a long-arm move. He catches Becton in the chest and drives him back, but Becton is able to anchor down and keep Ingram at bay, allowing Joe Flacco to find Breshad Perriman for a 49-yard touchdown. Good rep against Bosa here. Bosa lines up at the 5-tech in a wide alignment with his hand in the dirt. Becton takes a solid 45-degree set to square up Bosa nicely. Bosa gives a stutter-step to the inside and attempts a double-swipe to set up an outside rip move, but Becton gets his outside hand into Bosa's chest and grabs a little bit of jersey to shut down the swipe, another display of his length coming in handy. With the initial move shut down, Bosa attempts to convert into a bull rush. Bosa creates some push, but Becton catches Bosa's outside hand to limit the damage, holding up long enough for Flacco to take a shot. Near the end of the rep, Bosa did find a way to sliver through with a rip to the inside, but over three full seconds had passed by that point, which is more than enough time to consider it a win for Becton. Running game With Bosa lined up at defensive end with his hand in the dirt, Becton kicks out and creates plenty of movement, leading Frank Gore to an eight-yard pickup. Becton's hands come in wide while Bosa gets his hands inside, but Becton's incredible length allows him to grab Bosa by the shoulders and toss him outside. Rare mistake from Becton. Ingram stands up out wide. Becton kicks out to pick him up, but he leans into his punch, and Ingram easily evades him by side-stepping to the inside. This blows up the run, and Gore is held to a gain of only two yards. Becton's ability to move defensive backs at the second and third levels is special. Making effective contact in space on a world-class athlete who weighs over 100 pounds less than you is a very difficult thing to do, but Becton does it regularly. Left without work on this running play, Becton gets out and finds cornerback Tevaughn Campbell four yards beyond the line of scrimmage, driving him over 10 yards downfield. Knowing that Ryan Griffin is coming across the line to pick up the EDGE, Becton heads to the second level to look for work. Connor McGovern picks up the middle linebacker, so Becton finds the WILL linebacker and drives him outside to keep the B gap clean, helping Gore to a healthy five-yard gain on first down. Becton makes sure to finish through the whistle as he shoves his man out of the screen. Becton loves putting a cherry on top of his blocks. He slides out on this outside zone run, picks up Ingram, and squares his body up to Ingram's inside shoulder to drive him laterally. Becton finishes with an extra shove to knock yet another defender out of the frame. The Virginia kid continues to prove why he is one of the league's absolute best building blocks on the offensive side of the ball.