Mekhi Becton’s pass protection deserves more praise (Film)

Everyone has seen highlights of Mekhi Becton laying out defenders as a run blocker, but he has plenty of talent as a pass protector, too. Anyone who has paid any attention to the New York Jets over the past year has certainly seen their share of highlight reels featuring big No. 77 plowing over world-class athletes in the run game. At 364 pounds with ridiculously long arms, freakish athleticism, and a great feel for accurately squaring up his opponents in space, Mekhi Becton is already one of the most intimidating run blockers in the league despite having only 14 games under his belt. While Becton's triumphs in the run game are certainly worth marveling at, his unique highlight-worthiness in that phase has led to his abilities in the passing game being overlooked. Becton offers just as much elite potential in pass protection as he does in the run game. His pass-blocking performance as a 21-year-old rookie left tackle was nothing short of admirable. Becton earned a pass blocking grade of 76.0 at Pro Football Focus, which ranked at the 66th percentile among qualified tackles. He finished the season on an upward trend, posting a 78.3 pass blocking grade from Weeks 11-17. That ranked at the 83rd percentile among all tackles over that span, including ninth-best among left tackles. The young rookie was able to put up those numbers against a schedule that included star edge rushers like Myles Garrett, Bradley Chubb, Justin Houston, Frank Clark, Joey Bosa, and Melvin Ingram. Let's dive into some examples of Becton getting the job done in pass protection. In Week 4, Becton was able to get a few battles against Bradley Chubb before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. Chubb is one of the best left tackle-defeating edge rushers in football, ranking fifth in the NFL with 47 pressures from the offense's left side. Becton extends his inside hand in case he needs to help out with the defensive tackle. He refocuses to Chubb on the edge. Chubb comes in aggressively and throws both hands looking for a bull rush, but Becton wins with his remarkable length, getting hands-on first as he fires his hands into Chubb's shoulders and keeps a firm grip of the sleeves to win the rep. Great patience and hands from Becton. Chubb rushes Becton from a wide-9 alignment, standing up outside of the tight end. Becton gets into his 45-degree set and squares him up, staying patient. Chubb throws an outside head fake, which Becton does not bite on, and then gets into the bull rush. Chubb's hands come in high, landing around Becton's upper body, so Becton comes from underneath and pushes them upward. Chubb goes to Plan B and looks to turn the corner but Becton is able to flip his hips and shield the pocket. With his 35⅝-inch arms (95th percentile among OT all-time), Becton has so much length that he can get hands-on first even if he waits to throw his punch until the opponent throws his hands first. This gives him the luxury of being able to stay patient and read his opponent before throwing his hands. An added bonus offered by Becton in the passing game is his ability to make a big impact when helping out a teammate. He routinely shoves defenders into the ground to completely eliminate their chances of affecting the play. The Jets sell a wide zone to the right side. Becton ranges down the line and gives a blindside shot to the 2i-technique, who is engaged with Alex Lewis (left guard). Becton sends him flying, creating a clean pocket and a wide-open throwing lane up the middle. In Week 2, Becton faced off against Nick Bosa a few times before Bosa left the game with a season-ending injury, and Becton looked up to the task in a mano e mano battle between two powerful young players. Becton looks to quickly hit Bosa with a two-hand punch, but Bosa feels it out and swipes Becton's hands away, working inside to the space vacated by Becton. Bosa should have the win wrapped up by that point, but Becton is able to recover thanks to his length. Becton catches Bosa in the upper body with his right hand, latching on to Bosa's outside shoulder to prevent him from shaking free and penetrating into the backfield. The franchise left tackle slides inside and works his left hand into Bosa before resetting his base. Bosa looks to work back outside, but Becton's grip is too strong. Unlike on the Chubb reps above, Becton is the aggressor here as he throws his two-hand punch before Bosa declares his move. Bosa takes advantage and swipes the punch away as he works inside to the open B-gap. It should be game over, but Becton's athleticism and power allow him to clean up his mess. Becton fluidly swings his hips inside to square himself up to Bosa's outside half. He then shoves Bosa straight into the traffic on the interior, knocking over another defender and leaving Bosa stumbling. Down the line, you want to see Becton clean up his technique enough to the point where does not need to routinely go into recovery mode like he had to on the two plays above against Bosa, but the fact that he is able to win reps even when he loses on the initial move is a testament to how special he is from a physical standpoint. Almost any other tackle in the NFL would've given up pressure to Bosa on the two plays above. Becton is just so damn gifted that he can shut people down even when they beat him. Becton faced off against Nick's brother Joey on a few reps later in the season. Becton takes on Bosa out of a three-point stance as the Jets run play action. Becton takes an aggressive outside set, leaving the B-gap wide open, so Bosa looks to take advantage of it by using an inside rip move. Becton grabs onto both of Bosa's arms to shut down the rip. Bosa looks to spin back outside, but Becton matches him with a fluid hip turn. Beautiful stuff. Becton also faced Melvin Ingram quite a bit in Week 11. Ingram wastes no time fooling around and goes right in for the speed rush. Becton chops down Ingram's inside hand, flips his hips, squares up to Ingram's inside half, and works him up the arc. Becton had a great game against the Colts in Week 3, thoroughly dominating (0 pressures allowed, season-high 86.4 pass blocking grade) before leaving the game about halfway through. He had some good moments against Justin Houston. Houston comes in from a 6-tech alignment (over the TE) and throws a very wide punch that gives Becton the chance to get his hands into Houston's chest. With firmly established control of Houston's chest, Becton holds the veteran in check for eons. Houston goes with a speed rush, looking to get hands-on and then either yank Becton forward or throw a rip move to bend the corner. Becton throws an aggressive two-hand punch, hitting Houston in the upper body to completely derail his momentum. Becton had a learning experience against Myles Garrett in Week 16, allowing four pressures (including a strip-sack), but there were a lot of promising moments as well. This is just a display of raw strength. Becton gets into his stance with his weight a little bit out front, which is a disadvantageous position to be in against the bull rush thrown by Garrett, but Becton is still able to drop his anchor and absorb the rush. Becton gets aggressive to win here. Garrett comes from his 9-tech alignment looking to give a hard inside fake and work outside. Becton gets hands-on first, throwing his two-hand punch as soon as he notices Garrett position himself to fire off of his inside foot and work outside. Becton lands his left hand in Garrett's chest and his right hand on the shoulder, prompting Garrett to counter with an inside spin. It's no use as Becton drops his inside foot, pivots his hips inside, and positions himself perfectly to block the spin move. Becton had his way with Frank Clark and the Chiefs defense in Week 8, allowing one pressure and posting a pass blocking grade of 81.0. Becton thwarts Clark's speed rush from a wide alignment, allowing Clark to run himself up the arc on a quick-release passing play with a short drop from Sam Darnold. Clean pass protection reps may not have as much virality as dominant run blocking reps, but they are just as important (if not more so). Becton put a ton of impressive protection reps on tape throughout his rookie season, including plenty against high-level competition. It's Becton's impressiveness in both phases that made his rookie year so promising. If Becton had a rookie season in which he was just as fantastic in the run game but was a liability in protection, his future would not look nearly as promising as it does right now. From Weeks 11-17, Becton ranked ninth among left tackles in PFF's pass blocking grade (78.3) and 10th in run blocking grade (72.4). Becton was one of only six left tackles ranked top-10 at the position in both categories over that span - and he was the only rookie of the bunch. Becton is not just a run-game highlight machine. He is a special talent and true difference-maker who has the potential to become one of the best two-way left tackles in football.