4 NY Jets we can safely call busts after the 2023 season

1. Mekhi Becton, OT, NY Jets

Joe Douglas' first draft pick is also one of his most infamous. Mekhi Becton is another case of injuries derailing a once-promising career.

The 11th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Becton put together an excellent rookie season that had many penciling him in as a long-term building block for the franchise.

A pre-season poll of 50+ NFL executives, coaches, scouts, etc. even had Becton ranked as the sixth-best offensive tackle in all of football entering the 2021 season. The national consensus was that Becton was on the verge of superstardom.

Then, the injury bug struck — and it struck hard.

Becton suffered a serious knee injury in Week 1 of the 2021 season and would go on to miss the remainder of the year. The former first-round pick returned the following year, only to suffer another knee injury before the season started.

Becton appeared in just one game between 2021 and 2022, prompting the Jets to decline his fifth-year option. 2023 was Becton's final opportunity to prove that he deserves to stick around as a long-term building block.

The Louisville product got himself into the best shape of his career in the offseason and finally stayed healthy throughout most of the 2023 season. Unfortunately, his performance on the field left a lot to be desired.

The Jets are almost guaranteed to move on from Becton this offseason, ending the tenure of a player who once seemed prime to be a franchise cornerstone. Here's to hoping he can stay healthy and find success with another team, but as far as the Jets are concerned, this was a classic draft bust.