About Mekhi

Mekhi Becton was 6’7, 345 Lbs as a senior at Highland Springs High School based in Highland Springs, Virginia. 247Sports rated him as a 3-star prospect and the 16th best player in Virginia for the class of 2017. He was recruited by over 30 schools from across the United States, but wound up committing to Louisville on National Signing Day, February 1st, 2017.

It didn’t take long for Becton to make his presence felt, and was soon running with the first team offense. As a freshman he played in all 13 games, and started 11 of them for the Cardinals. Pro Football Focus had him as the best freshman in the country through his first four games, and was one of the best pass blockers in the entire ACC in 2017. Louisville would finish 8-5 and earn a bid to the TaxSlayer Bowl vs Mississippi State.

As a sophomore Becton had completely taken the starting tackle job for Louisville, but the season would be a tough one for them. They struggled to replace their Heisman winning quarterback, Lamar Jackson, and ended up firing their head coach before the season even ended. They would go 2-10 with multiple different names rotating as the starting quarterback.

Louisville brought in Scott Satterfield from Appalachian State to be their new head coach, and surprised everyone with how well they played. They were predicted to be the worst team in their division during pre season polls, but would end up finishing 8-5, 2nd to No. 3 Clemson. Becton would help lead this offense average nearly 450 yards a game, and over 200 yards rushing in 2019. He would finish the season with the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the ACC’s top offensive lineman, and a spot on the First Team All-ACC list.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

He is a frustratingly huge blocker for even NFL level defensive linemen. He can just over power many of the people in front of him, making him very dominant in the run game. For someone his size he doesn’t seem to have a problem staying low, which is rare for the biggest guy on the field.

Normally when you get a guy this big they can be somewhat uncoordinated or not bend very well. Becton is a 6’7, 360Lb athlete though and gets to the second level with ease. His feet move well enough for him to control the defender when pass blocking too.

Weaknesses

In his tape you can find him stopping at the second level to see if his runner is behind him or tackled. If he would just commit to a 2nd blocker until the whistle blows he would have busted open a few plays into massive gains if not touchdowns. I would love to see him be more aggressive when attacking his defender. He will just lunge at his defender and throw off his balance instead of getting up and enforcing his will on the defender.

While you love the fact that be his a giant, and impossible to move, it can come with a downside too. 370 Lbs is a lot of weight to carry around, even at 6’7. If he can keep his weight down it will allow him to stay quicker on his feet and do overall less damage on his joints.

NFL Draft Projection/NFL Player Comp

NFL Draft Projection

Mekhi is my 4th overall tackle in this class currently, and my 28th overall player on my NFL Big Board. There are going to be plenty of teams in the late 1st round like the 49ers or Packers, and the early 2nd round like the Bengals and Giants who will need tackle help.

I currently have him being selected 32nd to the San Francisco 49ers in my latest mock draft. He would create monster holes for their running game. Joe Staley might be done for the 49ers but if he isn’t they can use Becton for depth on their offensive line. After a year with a good NFL training staff Mekhi should become a monster of a tackle.

NFL Player Comp

Without a doubt Becton is going to be the biggest guy on the field. It makes scouting him easy because he legitimately stands out that much on tape. Orlando Brown out of Oklahoma was the same way, but Mekhi is even larger. I think he will be more athletic and not have the Combine tank him like Brown’s nearly did.

They both weren’t the most aggressive offensive linemen on tape either. Brown would have similar issues in his game that Becton shows now. Both had weight questions, and will have to work hard to manage their weight correctly.