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Jets' Mekhi Becton Says Rookie Goals Are to Start at OT, Make 2021 NFL Playoffs
May 19, 2020
New York Jets offensive lineman Mekhi Becton does not expect to have a rookie learning curve.
"I want to start as a rookie and I want to make the playoffs," Becton told reporters Monday, per ESPN's Rich Cimini.
Cimini noted that the Jets have not begun a season with a rookie starting along the offensive line since Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson did so in 2006.
New York selected Becton at No. 11 overall in the 2020 NFL draft.
The 21-year-old played collegiately at Louisville.
Becton is projected to start right away for the Jets, who identified offensive line as a top need for this offseason:
"Becton might be the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in the 2020 draft class," Bleacher Report's Matt Miller wrote after the Jets picked him. "If he hits, his finishing power and agility at mammoth size will make him an All-Pro. If he misses, he's a borderline starter-level right tackle. A lot of belief is being placed in his ability to develop, but the other side of that is he also could struggle to get better."
It will take more than a solid rookie campaign from Becton to propel the Jets into the playoffs, where they haven't been since 2010.
New York finished last season at 7-9.
