A former New York Jets NFL Draft bust selected in the past five years could be earning a starting role with his new team in 2024. No, not that bust. It’s not Zach Wilson, who’s believed to be on track to land the third-string quarterback job with the Denver Broncos. This one plays for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mekhi Becton in line to become Philadelphia Eagles’ starting right guard
The Philadelphia Eagles signed Mekhi Becton to a one-year contract worth $2.75 million. It’s the least money Becton has made in a single season. The 11th overall pick from the 2020 NFL Draft had the benefit of being signed to a rookie contract worth an average of $4.6 million per season.
However, the start of Becton’s career hasn’t gone according to plan. After starting 13 games as a rookie, Becton’s second season in New York was mired by a knee injury that restricted him to just one game. In 2022, the Jets moved their former first-round pick to right tackle, but a fractured kneecap prevented him from playing a single game.
Becton returned in 2023, where he started all 16 games he had appeared in. But according to Pro Football Focus, Becton committed 18 penalties and tied for a league-high 12 sacks allowed. Needless to say, he did not perform well.
PFF ranked 66th among tackles, earning a 53.2 grade, which included a 60.7 mark as a pass blocker and 56.3 as a run blocker. Now, he’s working with the Eagles, but for the first time in his NFL career, the 6-foot-7, 363-pound lineman is practicing as a right guard.
However, with the Eagles’ starting tackle tandem locked into Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, the 25-year-old doesn’t have a path to playing with the first-string offense. So, playing guard gives Becton a much better chance at seeing the field.
Now that projected starter Tyler Steen has suffered an ankle injury, it opens up the possibility for Becton to snag the Eagles’ right guard job with the first-string offense. Recently, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni directly addressed that opportunity.
“Yeah, we still have some time to think through some things. We’re going to have some really good physical practices next week, almost some operational things, different things like that. So we’ll see. No reason to say anything one way or the other right now because we’re still working through it. So we’ll see.”
Nick Sirianni on Eagles’ starting right guard competition
It is not known how long Steen’s injury will keep him out of action, but the longer the absence, the better Becton’s chances are. Of course, he’ll have to play well too.
