Well this is a new one. Remember leading up to the draft a few years ago when an anonymous scout considered Eli Apple’s cooking skills—or lack thereof—a cause for concern? If you need a refresher, here's the full quote: “The kid has no life skills. At all. Can’t cook. He’s just a baby. He’s not first round for me. He scares me to death.”
Whether Apple, currently a free agent (he had a deal with the Raiders last month that fell through), has proven deserving of his first-round label is debatable. But there’s one thing we can be certain of—cooking has had little to do with his career trajectory. Which leads us to this gem from a scout who thinks Louisville’s Mekhi Becton, one of the top tackles available in the upcoming NFL Draft, should be more concerned with football than his next culinary creation.
First off, I don’t think anyone has used the word “friggin” since Dr. Evil. Second, it’s time for the scouting community to pick a side. One day we’re raking Apple over the coals because he can’t whip up a bowl of fettucine, the next we’re hammering Becton for channelling Bobby Flay. So which one is it—is kitchen competency a good trait for NFL prospects or a red flag?
Becton’s size—he checked in at a robust 364 pounds at his Combine weigh-in—has been a frequent talking point leading up to the draft. One would wager Becton isn’t downing too many kale smoothies—his weight peaked at 388, according to Bob McGinn’s scouting report for The Athletic. But even if he’s a little on the heavy side, that extra baggage had no effect on his play at Louisville, where the Virginia native soared to All-ACC status while earning the Jacobs Blocking Award as the conference’s top O lineman in 2019. He even clocked a respectable 5.10 forty at the NFL Combine this past February, a faster time than consensus first-rounder Andrew Thomas (5.22), who weighs nearly 50 pounds less than Becton.
As a cooking novice who has burned just about every pot and pan in his cabinet, I think Becton’s culinary expertise should be commended, not chided. After all, who wouldn’t want a bone-crunching tackle who also makes a mean tiramisu?
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