Free agency projection proves Jets bust Mekhi Becton was a Jeff Stoutland merchant

The New York Jets have been host to a great many busts in the last decade plus, but one of the most memorable is offensive lineman Mekhi Becton. Picked No. 11 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, Joe Douglas' first with the team, Becton's promising rookie year was followed up with two lost seasons in a row due ot injuries and a horrendous 2023 campaign.

After a year in which he called out the Jets for mismanaging him and demanded that he be exclusively a left tackle, Becton gave up more sacks than anyone else. In his lone season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Becton moved to right guard and won a Super Bowl, which prompted the Los Angeles Chargers to hand him a three-year deal.

After his positive momentum has been all but annihilated, which could force Becton back to a role with the one team the Jets' disaster has performed well with.

ESPN's Matt Bowen believes it would behoove both Becton and the Eagles to consider linking up with one another, as the one above-average season the mammoth offensive lineman has had in his pro career came with Philly.

Former Jets bust Mekhi Becton urged by ESPN return to Eagles

Becton not only benefited from moving inside to guard, but he was tutored by legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. That kind of boost surely helped Becton out, as did getting sandwiched in between center Cam Jurgens and future Hall of Fame right tackle Lane Johnson for the majority of his time with the Eagles.

Becton didn't just regress with the Chargers; he hit depths that he rarely even touched with the Jets. Becton ranked as the 79th best guard in the NFL out of 81 by Pro Football Focus, came in as the worst run blocker at the position in all of football, and recorded a mind-boggling 0.3 pass block grade in one contest.

Joining the Eagles, even without Stoutland, might be the only card Becton has left to play. No one is going to give him a starting role just one year removed from signing a hefty three-year contract in free agency, and the Eagles' familiarity with him could lead to him landing back with his old team.

Becton may have gotten the last laugh in his back-and-forth with the Jets after starting on a Super Bowl-winning team, but the Chargers fell into the same trap New York fell into. Both teams decided that his flashes of greatness were worth committing to long-term, and both of them were severely burned as a result.

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