Louisville football: Just how high could Mekhi Becton be drafted?

Former Louisville offensive tackle Mekhi Becton was one of the big winners of this year’s NFL Combine. Now the question becomes, just how high could he be drafted?

There may not have been a more impressive combine performance at the 2020 NFL Combine than former Louisville football star tackle, Mekhi Becton. We’ve known since the day that Becton stepped foot onto campus that not only was he going to be a star at the collegiate level but could have the opportunity to be a special talent in the NFL.

We watched for three years as the 6’7, 370-pound lineman manhandled grown men on the line of scrimmage as if they were his little brother. While we saw it every weekend, the rest of the country still wasn’t “woke” in regards to Becton due to the fact that outside of Lamar Jackson in 2017 there wasn’t really much to watch in terms of NFL talent.

But once Dwayne Ledford arrived at Louisville, that changed everything.

Becton went from dominant player to legendary for the Cards as he helped to establish one of the nation’s top rushing attacks while physically man-handling dudes left and right. Having been deemed an”OL guru” Ledford helped to not only help Becton with his game and improving as a lead blocker but also with his mental ability and understanding how to dominate as well as with leadership.

Now with Becton running an incredible 5.11 40-yard dash at over 360 pounds while standing at 6’7, with one of the longest wingspans in the entire draft., the talk shifted from a guy who could be pretty good at the next level to talking about a star in the making who could help shift the direction of an NFL franchise.

With less than 50 days until the draft, there is still a lot of unsettled business. Players go from the NFL Combine to begin taking visits to certain organizations while hosting individual workouts and attending college pro-days. There’s a lot of moving and shaking that’s bound to happen.

We’ve also known for quite some time that the quarterback position was going to be the major storyline of the 2020 NFL Draft considering the crop of talent available including Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, and Jordan Love, all whom project to be first-rounders. Everything that happens in this year’s draft is going to depend on what happens with Cincinnati, Washington, Detroit, New York (Giants), and Miami, who are set to make the top five picks, as every team but one could logically draft a quarterback.

That means for Mekhi Becton and the other group of stars at the top of the draft they’ll have to wait to see how things shake out just like the rest of us as they want for the top teams to play a game of musical quarterbacks.

Before look at Becton’s likely landing spots, here are a few things to consider about this year’s draft.

Mekhi Becton’s stock will likely only rise from this point on

His combine performance has made him the hottest name when it comes to offensive linemen, and we’re starting to see that reflected now in most NFL mock drafts. Do you know who else thinks he’s the top offensive tackle available in the draft? Mekhi does.

Becton still will be going through individual workouts with teams, being apart of meetings with coaches and GM’s, as well as working out at Louisville’s pro day. Combine that with the fact that Becton showed everything you’d want to see from a franchise tackle, it’s likely that Becton will only rise from this point on.

If I had to guess, I’d cap his floor at no. 11 overall.

Several top 10 teams need offensive line help

This is a draft that has been labeled as being very strong when it comes to offensive tackle and a lot of that starts with Mekhi Becton, Tristan Wirfs, and Andrew Thomas who all have the potential to be day one starters.

Luckily for those guys, there are a ton of offensive needy teams picking in the top 12. Detroit (no. 3), the Giants (no. 4), Los Angeles (no. 6), Carolina (no. 7), Arizona (no. 8), Cleveland (no. 9), and the Jets (no. 11) all could be in line to draft a left tackle, meaning there are plenty of spots where Becton could land.

The draft order isn’t set

If there’s one thing we know about the NFL Draft it’s that trades are bound to happen, especially in a year where quarterback’s are aplenty.

What we are looking at now won’t be the same come April 23rd, and if you need evidence of that just look at a handful of the expert mock drafts out there. In the most recently released mock draft from CBS Sports, the Browns are projected to trade up from no. 10 to no. 8 to take Mekhi Becton.

With this many teams looking to land a franchise-caliber QB, expect others who aren’t as needy to look to pick up additional assets to move back.

So what happens?

We likely know that Joe Burrow will land with the Bengals at no. 1, while the Redskins are very likely to take defensive end, Chase Young. Detroit will look at taking a quarterback at three, but most likely will end up drafting another defensive player.

Number four becomes the first place in the draft where we really begin looking at whether or Mekhi Becton will be in play.

For each of the last two year’s the Giants have landed “franchise cornerstones” in running back Saquon Barkley in 2018 and quarterback Daniel Jones last season. In glimpses, during the 2019/20 season, you saw just how good the Giants could be but it was obvious they still needed more. Considering Jones spent a lot of his time fumbling the football and/or being sacked, it makes you wonder whether the Giants would see the value in bringing in a guy who allowed a handful of sacks over a three year period.

If the Giants decide to draft someone like Jeff Okudah (CB – Ohio State) or Isaiah Simmons (S/LB – Clemson) that’s where things will get interesting. LA and Miami will both need quarterbacks and the odds of slim of them taking an offensive lineman, UNLESS, the Chargers have a feeling that drafting a stud left tackle could influence the decision of Tom Brady.

At no. 7 Carolina very well could take an offensive lineman with new head coach Matt Rhule looking to install a dynamic new offense but considering they just acquired Russell Okung from LA, I would say it’s more likely they go quarterback or receiver.

If I was a betting man (which I’m not – unless I know it’s a good deal) I would put my money on Becton being drafted between eight and 10. While I think New York makes the most sense and would be the most fun to watch, the Cardinals and Browns are both teams who desperately need OL help.

Becton could be a great option for the Cardinals and Kliff Kingsbury considering the style of offense he’s played in under Scott Satterfield and the fact that blocked for one of the most athletic quarterbacks in history, Lamar Jackson.

The Browns are in about the same place as the Giants but for different reasons. Instead of having a ton of young players, the Browns have Baker Mayfield a former no. 1 overall pick who has literally all eyes on him all the time, paired with star receivers and known drama-starters Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.

Many thought the Browns were destined for a monster year in 2019/20, but instead watched as they self-imploded week-after-week and botched everything in a manner that only the Browns could.

They need offensive line help probably more than anybody drafting in the top 10 as their front five has been a revolving door of mediocrity for each of the last two seasons. The franchise has spent money literally everywhere else when it comes to improving the team but until they land a star tackle to keep Mayfield upright, it really won’t matter.

That’s what makes Becton a great fit, and even though it sucks to know he’d be working for a franchise who gets everything wrong 99 percent of the time, his presence and talent could push their offensive to an elite level.

After impressing GMs not only on the field but off the field during last week’s combine we know Becton is going to be a high draft pick, but don’t be surprised to see the Big Ticket got as high as number four in the 2020 NFL Draft.