Mekhi Becton is stoked about forming a dominant left-side duo with Alijah Vera-Tucker for the New York Jets.
Make no mistake about it: Mekhi Becton is absolutely thrilled to have Alijah Vera-Tucker beside him on the New York Jets offensive line.
JORDAN AND PIPPEN!!! Mark my words 😉!!! https://t.co/6geS06DLTb
— Trending Topic 🤷🏾♂️ (@BigTicket73) May 25, 2021
Responding to a tweet from the Jets’ Twitter account that featured a photo of himself and Vera-Tucker at practice, Becton compared the duo of he and his new left-side partner to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
While Jordan and Pippen’s total of six championships will be astronomically difficult for Becton and Vera-Tucker to match, there is certainly no doubt that the blue-chip prospects have a chance to form one of the best young offensive line duos in the NFL.
Becton, the 11th overall pick in the 2020 draft, and Vera-Tucker, the 14th overall pick in the 2021 draft, are slated to enter the 2021 season as the only starting tackle-guard duo in the league featuring two players who were both selected top-15 by the same team that they are starting for.
The last team to enter a season with such a pairing on the left side of their offensive line was the 1998 Saints, who entered the year with sixth-year left tackle Willie Roaf (8th pick in 1993) and rookie left guard Kyle Turley (7th pick in 1998). Roaf is a Hall-of-Famer, while Turley would transition to tackle and become an All-Pro (something that Vera-Tucker is capable of doing).
When we throw in the youth of the Becton/Vera-Tucker duo, they become an even more unique tandem.
We have not seen a pair of Week 1 starting linemen who played next to one another on the left side of the line, were both top-15 picks by the team they were playing for, and were both within their first three NFL seasons since Mike Munchak and Bruce Matthews for the 1984 Houston Oilers. Munchak, the eighth overall pick in 1982, started at left guard in his third season, while Matthews, the ninth overall pick in 1983, started beside Munchak at center.
Munchak and Matthews combined to start 369 games for the Oilers, making nine Pro Bowl appearances apiece. Both players are now in the Hall of Fame.
It’s extremely rare to see two linemen who are this highly-regarded playing next to one another at such an early stage in their careers. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see an offensive lineman’s version of The Last Dance starring Becton and Vera-Tucker in a few decades.
