Eagles' Mekhi Becton on failed Jets tenure: Don’t 'tear (people) down every day’

Peter Schrager

NFL Insider & NFL Reporter

Yes, Saquon Barkley will be the big headline of discarded New York first-round talents making his former team’s fans weep as he starts in Super Bowl LIX. But Mekhi Becton has quite a story, too. You can’t necessarily blame the Jets for moving on from Becton in free agency a year ago.

After a promising rookie season — in which he was drafted before perennial All-Pro Tristan Wirfs — Becton battled weight issues, injuries and antagonistic Jets fans online for the bulk of his New York career. He had two separate major knee injuries, and when asked, said he’d rather not move to right tackle before his final season with the Jets. So he wasn’t re-signed or given an extension, and instead, signed a minimum deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In Philadelphia, he found the coach he’d long been missing. Jeff Stoutland, the professor of the famed Stoutland U, and the best offensive line in NFL history, naturally took the troubled Becton under his wing and turned him into a dominant offensive guard for the best running team in the NFC. Becton — who stands at 6-foot-7 and weighs well over 350 pounds — had never played offensive guard in his life.

“It’s pretty funny to me that I’m where I’m at, and they’re where they’re at,” Becton said of the Jets last week, according to the New York Post.

“I’m the same player I’ve always been,” Becton said. “It’s nothing different. I just didn’t have the support like I have now. I feel like if you give somebody support and uplift them — and not tear them down every day — they are going to go perform like they can.”

His star teammate Barkley got the headlines this season, but the Becton story is one that’s a testament to both the player’s dedication to proving his former employer wrong, and the power of a better NFL building.

Peter Schrager is an NFL Insider for FOX Sports and a host of “Good Morning Football” on NFL Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @PSchrags.