Mekhi Becton INJURED in practice today...

They still post, they just think lightning struck twice in a calendar year for Mekhi Becton

 

I'll take a stab at those.

1) Given Becton's size, weight, body type, personality, eating habits and conditioning practices, did they over-draft him by ignoring or minimizing red flags that made him an extreme injury risk?

Yes I think, of course, any time you draft someone you are taking a risk but as one of the largest humans ever drafted in round 1, they knew they were taking a shot at a boom-bust type prospect which is not necessarily a bad thing.

2.) Was last year's injury diagnosed, treated and managed properly by the medical staff?

I'm sure it was properly diagnosed and treated at Florham Park. The Jets doctors are well respected with lengthy resumes and a sprained knee woulda been nothing new to them.

3) Did the team properly manage his off-season rehabilitation?

In the offseason the team can only go so far. With the CBA in place they can't require Becton to show up to work for most of the offseason, they can merely recommend a rehab plan and since Becton was a no-show until it was mandatory, he handled his rehab on his own.

4.) Did JD ignore red flags about Becton's likely availability this year when he conducted this year's draft?

By all accounts it was a tough decision between Ahmad Gardner and Ikem Ekwonu, they weighed both options heavily. I dont think he ignored red flags about Becton's availability, he just took another risk.

5.) Did the coaching and training staffs mismanage him in training camp, such as by letting him continue to practice even though he was limping?

That's very possible but some of that is on Becton as well. He sat out a drill and then bitched on twitter when it was reported. Obviously he would not have been receptive to the staff recommending he sit out more drills

 

Nice article by Cannizaro.

https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/jets-mekhi-becton-needs-your-compassion-after-devastating-injury/

 

Mekhi Becton, the man, the myth, the ghost....

 

What if the fans were rolling their eyes not at Becton himself, but the Jets leadership regarding their decisions and management of Becton?

 

Great post.

1. I don't think they overdrafted him. He was going in that spot. In a normal year he likely would have gone top 5 or 10. But, because of the quality of OL he dropped to11 being the 3rd OL drafted. The Jets allegedly wanted Willis and were looking to trade up but did not. Willis went the pick before at 10. There were two issues was Wirfs a guard or a tackle and do you draft for upside or for high floor. Personally, I would draft for high floor and take the sure thing. JD drafted for high ceiling, the homerun and for a LT. Both philosophies have merit. I would argue almost always for the sure thing unless you have a roster full of sure things.
2. It is a good question. The injury pretty obviously has had complications and is a lot more serious than we realized. The knee injury lasted until May not getting medically cleared until May. It appears the injury still bothered him in camp. Causing discomfort, limping, pain and a knee brace last week.
3. There is no indication he did not follow the rehab. He showed videos of himself working out all season. We heard from his trainers and his nutritionist how well he was doing as well as the FO. The CS said they were aware of his rehab and monitoring it all off-season. He came into camp in great shape and at his target weight according to the CS and three beat reporters and performed at very well in camp at a very high level. He was where he need to be from a conditioning and performance standpoint. Unfortunately his knee does seem to have recovered from last year.
4. Possibly. From all indications JD believed last years injury would not hamper him and he would make a fully recovery. That does not seem to be the case. Did he ignore medical reports? Did doctors make mistakes or were there unknown issues? he must have felt pretty confident that the knee was sound and they only needed a competent swing tackle to fill in a few games here and there. a back-up quality OT is expensive in money and draft capital and filling out the roster at some point you need to cut corners. He took a gamble here and lost.
5. Possibly. They did limit his work Saturday because of problems with the knee last week. But, he was also seen in a video limping , in severe pain and having a lot of problems Monday and they did not stop him form practicing.

 

Here is an article from July where the Ravens beat reporter says at the very top "NFL Veteran will start at right tackle".

Here's another article from July that discusses the Ravens OL competitions, where it clearly states, "Free-agent addition Moses will be the starting right tackle."

On every depth chart released for the Ravens so far, he's listed as the starter at RT.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/depth/_/name/bal/baltimore-ravens
https://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/BAL
https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/ravens/lscvzlkc7ql14k8jeg6z

Who is he competing with exactly?? Do you have anything to back that claim up?

Sure, the Ravens didn't have to break the bank for Moses. They're a playoff-ready team that should make a strong run at the AFC North title this year if everyone can stay healthy.

Think that would be the case for the Jets? A team coming off a 4-13 campaign where most of our fanbase will be happy with 7 wins this year? IMO, there's a 0% chance he would've came back to the Jets on the contract he got from Baltimore, and quite frankly, maybe he just didn't want to come back here. Maybe he wanted to go to a contender and any contract offer by the Jets wouldn't have mattered.

Just to clarify, Moses is making 5.5M this season, not 3. Still a great contract for the Ravens but not one that he would've accepted from the Jets IMO.

 

Well, it's not about Ekwonu/Neal/Cross necessarily, but the protection. Without protection, I disagree that it shouldn't have much of the impact on Zach's development. It most definitely will have significant impact. He is a second year player who just turned 23. Being rushed all the time will develop very bad habits and can ultimately ruin even a great prospect. Just remember start of last year with GVR when Zach was hit at a higher rate than David Carr. Now McDermot is this year's GVR. It is absolutely CRITICAL to protect Zach with at least a competent player in each of 5 OL positions. McDermot should be at the very end of the bench, not a starter of first guy in, Edoga not even on a team, and Max is a developmental tackle, who is not ready yet.

Also, when we talk about weapons, if protected well, I think we have enough. But if not ... Do you remember receiving core last year was absolute and total trash? G Wilson was added and should help, but he is a rookie. TEs finally are there, which will help too. But we don't exactly have Pro Bowlers as our weaponry. No Hill, no Samuel, no AJ Brown. I think we are solid, but not stellar to the point where we can sacrifice protection.

 

100% spot on in my view.

 

Going back to the draft, yes there were some who wanted one of the premium tackles. But the majority wanted an edge, especially when Thib. fell to us. Yes there was a small and vocal OT group, but most would have still been happy with Thibs, knowing we could go tackle at 10 or in the 2nd.

After signing DJ Reed (and Zane Lewis, and resigning Guidry) corner was not a position of need and the Sauce pick was a luxury. Yet two days ago we had management saying that signing another tackle would be a luxury? WT ever loving F? Is this the twilight zone? Everyone knew we had no depth at tackle coming in. Plus Becton had serious questions and Fant is in his last year.

The truth is JD got way to "cute" last draft. It was a rare great lineman draft on both sides of the ball, a draft that builds champions, and instead we went CB and WR in the top 10. Then had to give up picks 35 & 69 to get JJ, meaning after Breece we didn't pick again until 101. In the meantime the Giants got Thibs and Neal, and grabbed skill players and more beef in the 2nd and 3rd, which was the smartest use of capital in that draft.

It seemed pretty obvious we should have gone Thibs at 4, which would have saved us picks 35 and 69, then grab Penning or Smith at 10. If we wanted to get cute at 10 we could have taken Hamilton, or even stuck with Garret Wilson, and still had 35/69 to get a tackle. At least that kind of cute doesn't blow up in your face as badly as doing it at 4, while passing over one of the top edges.

 

It is critical to protect your QB. I'm not saying it isn't but our OL is still very solid to good at 4 of the 5 positions. Fant, Tomlinson, McGovern, and AVT are all plus starters or better.

Clearly we have a hole at RT now but, like you said, all we need is someone who can step in and be competent. My point in saying what I said is that if Zach needs 5 1st round draft picks/All-Pros across the line to be successful, then he isn't the guy.

I think the skill guys we have in place are good enough that they'll be able to make plays with the ball in their hands. So again, IMO, our line just needs to be competent this year.

 

The running game and a defense that does not get us into must-pass situations will help the line.

 

I don't think anyone is saying he need 5 1st round picks at OL. But I am very concerned about OT. RT is completely wide open now. And even Fant is coming off major injury. We need to get a good competent Tackle in place and also start practicing together to build continuity. Also a good back-up to Fant would be nice in addition to a starter at LT.

 

That's me, all right. Small and vocal.

 

Nah for the most part, all of the hate was moreso towards Becton. There were some who felt JD should have went T at 4 but for the most part, getting Sauce was lauded.

JD and this staff really put their eggs into Becton and hindsight, it’s not looking good since he’s hurt again. But they really have gone to bat for him, which speaks a lot to me. They will have to sign a vet tackle and by accounts, Max Mitchell is indeed in the competition to start. But he was known as a good pass pro prospect coming out.

 

Oh, I am denying this at all. I am just saying that MY anger is not directed at him, but the team management.

 

Douglas was not ready to admit during the 2022 draft that his selecting Becton in 2020 was an error. He wanted to give him one more chance. Needless to say, but in 2023 he won't have that problem (we can all hope). I bet he uses 2 of his top 3 draft picks on the OL in 2023. Really "only" OL and LB are the "major" sources of need.

 

hey the staff should shoulder the blame here. Who knows why they didn’t bring in a vet tackle beforehand. Maybe none would come here with two tackles fully entrenched as starters. I’m not sure. They def need to secure a vet now because I really have no confidence in Edoga and McDermott. I’d rather have the rookie out there.

 

Sorry, that should read NOT denying this at all.