Mekhi Becton recalls being uncomfortable as a big child, is now impressing the Jets as a rookie

Even when he was little, Mekhi Becton, remembers being told he was big.

At 6-foot-7 and 364 pounds left tackle was a can’t miss prospect for the New York Jets, who took him No. 11 overall in April’s NFL Draft. The All-ACC selection at Louisville stood out based on his college game film and became the rage of the NFL Combine for his 5.1 time in the 40. And yet growing up, Becton remembers that his size wasn’t always creating the type of buzz that he liked.

“I was always getting talked about being a bigger kid, that I’m bigger than normal so I was getting talked about. It is what it is,” Becton said Wednesday on a virtual press conference with the media.

“For example, I was going to the pool, I was wearing a tank top and not just like have no short on. That’s what I mean by insecure. But I embrace it now.”

Now, Becton is an NFL environment where bigger, faster and stronger is simply a way of life. As such, a rookie offensive lineman is expected to have struggles acclimating to the league, especially a left tackle given the responsibilities of protecting a franchise quarterback’s blindside.

But the early returns on Becton have been quite solid if not glowing. Head coach Adam Gase praised his rookie first round pick for coming in prepared mentally and physically for training camp.

“You rarely see a 370-pound guy move the way he does. It’s hard to explain what it feels like when you’re standing next to him,” Gase said on Monday.

“When you get next to him, that’s when you realize how big this guy is. When other players are talking about his size, his length, his strength, that’s when you know it’s real. You know it’s not something that a coach or scout is just talking about just because a height, weight, speed, measurable-type thing. He applies it to the field. It’s difficult for guys to figure out how to rush him in the pass game and then in the run game it’s hard to hard to move them back, you don’t see much penetration, that line flattens out pretty fast.”

Coming into the draft, Becton was considered raw, this despite being named the top blocker in the conference and his tremendous workout at the NFL Combine. Perhaps it was a lazy trope, given that Becton was so big and strong that it was assumed that he simply overpowered his opponents in college

The fact that the rookie left tackle is acclimating well in his first week on the field is a promising sign. While he remains a work in progress Becton has openly embraced that he is far from refined and a finish product.

In camp, he says that when he needs help, he has turned to his right where he finds left guard Alex Lewis, the only projected starter on the Jets offensive line who returns from last year. Lewis, he says, has helped him understand his assignment and the playbook. On the other side of the line, he credits right tackle George Fant for helping his technique and fine-tuning his game.

“This is a whole lot faster. It’s a whole lot faster but once I get my technique down and plays, it definitely is going to slow down,” Becton said.