How well has Mekhi Becton played this year?

Edition #522

Good morning! ☕

I’m both looking forward to and dreading the game on Sunday. As shocking as the offence has been, if we beat the Bills and the Dolphins lose to the Raiders…which could happen, then we’ll be playing Miami for the #1 spot in the AFC East on Black Friday.

The AFC East is anything but dominant this year. The Patriots are one of the worst teams in the NFL, but they still beat us. The Bills have significant problems and have just made Ken Dorsey the scapegoat and while Miami has an outstanding offence, they’re defence makes them very beatable.

What this all equates to is the one thing that we as Jets fans struggle to cope with…hope.

🟢 Josh Allen hasn’t always performed that well against the Jets, and he’s turned the ball over far too much this year. But, you do have to respect his talent according to DJ Reed: "He's one of the few quarterbacks that could make every throw on the field, so obviously he feels confident about his arm and he makes miraculous plays at times, and sometimes it can bite him in the butt. He tries to make the miraculous play, but he's very talented in what he does. He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Despite him struggling right now, he's still an elite quarterback that you have to prepare for and take seriously."

⚪ Here is the injury report heading into today. It’ll be interesting to see If the Jets activate Duane Brown considering he’s had a number of full practices recently.

🟢 Nathaniel Hackett was asked how he stays optimistic considering the offensive struggles: “I mean this is a very humbling League, very humbling League. Being in it as long as I have, throughout my entire life, you understand that and there are low lows and there are very high highs and I think that is why we love it, that is why we love the game. The idea is we just got to get on a role again, we were kind of going through this slump early, that three game slump we had, and then we kind of bounced back and started going, so we just need to get over that hump, we need to get that first touchdown in a long time and I think that is really going to help us. For us as coaches we love what we do, it’s a great profession and you love every aspect of it, the guys you get to work with and watching them improve, that is what we are aiming for and that is what inspires you.”

⚪ Jeff Ulbrich admitted that the Jets need to be better against the run. He was also asked why the Jets have found so much success against Josh Allen recently. “Good luck? No. I think within your division you become so familiar with the team, and they become familiar with us for sure too. We play a style of defence that really forces you to earn every inch and take the long road down the field on those drives and at times, we have taken advantage of the fact, you know he is an amazing player, and he has got a little bit of superman in him where he can just take a game over by himself. With that type of ability sometimes he has tried to get us and at times he has gotten us in the three years we have been here and at times we have gotten him. So, it is going to be a battle, it’s going to be awesome.”

🟢 Michael Carter met with the media in Arizona yesterday and he said he was grateful for the new opportunity with the Cardinals, he also alluded to some things in New York - "There is a lot that went on behind the scenes that led me to not be surprised. Those are my brothers back in New York and they know that. What is understood doesn't need to be explained, and they got my number."

⚪ The Dolphins waived former Jet Chosen Anderson last night. The 30-year-old receiver has 1 catch for 68 yards and a touchdown on the season.

🟢 The Baltimore Ravens are sure looking like Super Bowl contenders after they defeated the Bengal's 34-20 last night. OBJ hasn't had a great season but he showed he still has some explosion last night with 4 catches for 116 yards. I'd love to see some explosion with the Jets outside of Garrett Wilson. I really hope we see some Jason Brownlee this weekend as Lazard has been a huge disappointment and is offering very little.

The number one job for Joe Douglas this off-season is to sort the offensive line out.

If that sounds familiar it’s because that’s been high on the priority list since he arrived back in 2019.

I’d also be spending a lot of time with the athletic trainers to try and understand why the Jets seem to have more offensive line injuries than anyone else in the league.

I haven’t checked that statistically, but it certainly seems as though we experience more lost games than anyone else. This is strange because we became accustomed to consistency at the start of this century.

But how much work do the Jets have to do?

Duane Brown and Mekhi Becton are set to be free agents this summer. As is Connor McGovern and Billy Turner. In a way, it’s a chance for the Jets to completely reset, and while Brown and Turner will likely be gone, there are decisions to be made on McGovern and Becton. We’ll leave McGovern for now and concentrate on Becton.

Will the Jets bring their former first-round tackle back? Will he want to return considering the rollercoaster he’s been on with injuries with the Jets and how he’s sometimes locked horns over his usage?

Earlier this week Mekhi Becton said that the reason he was able to handle elite edge rushers this year is because he’s “elite” too.

Elite left tackles get paid a lot of money, here are the top five salaries for left tackles in the NFL by yearly average:

1. Laremy Tunsil - Texans - $25 million/year

2. Andrew Thomas - Giants - $23.5 million/year

3. Trent Williams - 49ers - $23 million/year

4. David Bakhtiari - Packers - $23 million/year

5. Ronnie Stanley - Ravens - $19.75 million/year

I don’t think I need to say that Becton isn’t getting close to those numbers considering his injury history and performance, but what will he get?