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He’s not just the new kid on the block, he’s the biggest in the neighborhood.
Literally.
Mekhi Becton makes his presence felt.
Just ask any defensive player in the Jets who have been privy to the sight of the 6-foot-7, 363-pound tackle and first-round draft pick that has touched them in practice in recent days.
Linebackers Neville Hewitt and Blake Cashman got a taste of Monday’s practice, which was the team’s first session of the summer in epaulettes.
At the start of an 11-on-11 drill, the 6-2, 234-pound Hewitt was on the wrong side of a Becton block on running ground and was flattened like one of those cartoon characters. by Bugs Bunny.
“Yeah, he got me,” Hewitt said later, smiling during an interview with Zoom. “It was on a play where he hit the gap and he got off the ball pretty well. I was quite impressed. He’s a pretty big guy. ”
When asked if the preferred course of action when a 6-7, 363-pound man-man growled towards him is to ‘dodge’, Hewitt replied, ‘If you see it coming, you better do like him and go to him or he will have you. ”
Blake Cashman, a 6-1, 237-pound linebacker after a shoulder injury in 2019, also incurred Mekhi’s wrath on Monday.
“I had to take it one-on-one, and let’s just say it didn’t go very well for me,” Cashman said. “Today in training, first day in pads, he made himself known and what he is capable of doing. He’s a great player, someone who will play in this league for a long time. He has so much more potential to develop.
“The first thing that stands out is its size. ”
This is the first winner for the training camp understatement.
The “7” and “7” on Becton’s uniform seem larger than the numbers on everyone else’s shirts. He beats the team’s next heaviest player, compatriot George Fant, at 41 pounds.
“He’s different, man,” said newcomer Frank Gore, who at 5-9 is almost a foot shorter than Becton. “One of the greatest guys I know. ”
Becton, too, has been chatty, according to Gore, the free agent in his 16th season in the NFL.
“The first day he was talking to me there,” Gore said. “He was telling me that he” got me “and” I will make sure you have your 4 meters [per carry], I’ll take you where you want to go. I liked this. I can say he really enjoys the competition.
“I watched [tape of] him when he was drafted. Being able to move so well and be that big is crazy. ”
What’s crazy is that the Jets haven’t had a left tackle to anchor their offensive line with authority since D’Brickashaw Ferguson retired in 2016.
Becton seems to have a chance to fill that void and be a lasting presence similar to what Ferguson has been during his 10 year career.
It was not perfect, of course. A few times on Monday, linebacker Jordan Jenkins made do with Becton. But those things are supposed to happen to rookie tackles in training camp. Even the tackles that dominate their teammates in the clique.
“It’s rare to see a 370-pound guy move the way he does,” said head coach Adam Gase. “It’s hard to explain what it feels like to be standing next to him. When you are next to him you realize how tall this guy is. When other players talk about his size, his length, his strength, it’s when you know it’s real, that it’s not just a coach or a scout talking about it. He applies it in the field. ”
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For the second day in a row, Gase has said how far along Becton seems to be so early in the camp.
“Everything he’s done so far has shown me that he had to study this summer to come here and perform the way he was performing,” said Gase sadly. “It’s hard for guys to figure out how to brush [past] him in the passing game, and in the running game, it is difficult to make him back down. You won’t see a lot of penetration.
“The longer he spends in this training camp, the better he will become. I have the impression that he handled everything very well. ”
That’s great news for everyone involved in the Jets… except for guys like Hewitt and Cashman when they see Becton attacking them in practice.
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