You may have heard Tiki & Tierney talk about it on air Monday: would Mekhi Becton’s health, or lack of it, affect the Jets’ draft plans in any way, given they have the fourth and tenth overall picks?
Well, perhaps head coach Robert Saleh gave a little bit of a spoiler on Monday, as Saleh spoke at the NFL's annual league meeting and intimated that Becton, who missed almost all of last season with a knee injury, might not be ready for team OTAs – and might not be in the plans at all after George Fant’s impressive season at left tackle in 2021.
"George has earned the right to be in the conversation to have that left tackle spot," Saleh said. "Call it a competition if you want, but we know what George has done and really excited to get him back, too."
Becton was hurt in the Jets’ opening week loss to Carolina, and what was supposed to be a four-to-eight week injury cost the 2020 No. 11 pick the entire season – a timeline Saleh again admitted Monday was because of Becton’s size.
“He’s a very large man, and he’s been working on that knee," Saleh said. "The road back for him is going to be harder than another guy like me who if I had the same injury, I’m light – it just is what it is."
That said, Becton is rehabbing hard, but it’s just a matter of listening to his body.
"We’ve been in constant communication with him. Feel like he’s doing a really good job. Really excited to see him come back. He’s putting up the work. It’s not easy going through what he’s going through. I’ll speak for him – I do know when he comes back, he’s going to be a ball of butcher knives."
Fant will be at one tackle spot regardless of Becton’s situation, it seems, but Saleh also had some news on the rest of the line on Monday: he plans to switch 2021 first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker from left guard (where he played alongside Fant in 2021) to right guard in deference to free agent signing Laken Tomlinson, who will take over at his natural position on the left side.
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