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It sounds so outlandish that only the NFL’s best offensive line coach could get away with saying it.
And only someone as starved for a fresh start as Mekhi Becton could believe it.
Drawing on his experience of having Halapoulivaati Vaitai replace injured future Hall of Famer Jason Peters during a Super Bowl run in 2017, offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland told Becton before the season that he could be the reason that the Eagles’ blocking continued to thrive in the post-Jason Kelce era.
“He was saying how [Vaitai] was the reason they won that Super Bowl,” Becton recalled after winning the NFC Championship game. “He pretty much told me at the beginning of the year that I’m going to be the reason why we get there. So I told him on the field when I gave him a hug, ‘Let’s go finish.’ ”
Saquon Barkley isn’t the only former New York football player whose career has reached new heights this season after signing as a free agent with the Eagles.
Becton — the Jets’ 2020 first-round draft bust who was unsigned until late April — finally is fulfilling his promise under the kingmaker Stoutland.
The behind-the-scenes questions that the Jets had about his commitment to conditioning when they tried to take away his starting job now are ancient history.
“It’s pretty funny to me that I’m where I’m at,” Becton said, “and they’re where they’re at.”
The Jets are coming off a 5-12 season that resulted in the firings of general manager Joe Douglas — who drafted Becton over two-time first-team All-Pro Tristan Wirfs — and head coach Robert Saleh.
Successors Darren Mougey and Aaron Glenn were introduced Monday, about 18 hours after the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl 2025.
“I had a feeling I would be in this spot because I deserve to be in this spot,” Becton said. “I worked too hard. I knew I wouldn’t stay with the Jets for my whole career.”
It’s hard to blame the former regime for writing off Becton, who totaled one game over the 2021 and 2022 seasons due to two separate knee injuries and resisted a move to right tackle before the 2023 season. Becton ultimately relented but still wound up starting 14 of 16 games at his natural left tackle because of Duane Brown’s injuries.
Yet here Becton is shining at right guard because that’s the hole the Eagles needed filled in their offensive line reconfiguration. The 6-foot-7, 363-pounder never had played or practiced guard at any level of football in his career until Stoutland suggested it.
“I’m the same player I’ve always been,” Becton said. “It’s nothing different. I just didn’t have the support like I have now. I feel like if you give somebody support and uplift them — and not tear them down every day — they are going to go perform like they can.”
Three Eagles offensive linemen (Lane Johnson, Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson) were named Pro Bowlers, and a fourth (Jordan Mailata) is an established anchor at left tackle. But Becton’s trajectory is pointing up after finishing as the No. 18 ranked guard in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.
“Losing Kelce was a big loss. Let’s just be real,” Mailata said. “The thing I love most about our unit is we embrace the challenge.”
One year after settling for a one-year, $2.75 million contract, Becton is seen as a marquee free agent because of his improvement and versatility, his education at so-called “Stoutland University,” and the success of his offensive teammates (including Barkley running for 2,005 yards).
“I always had a chip on my shoulder. The chip never leaves,” Becton said. “I’m used to always being doubted, always being looked down upon, always being talked about. It’s water down my back. I just want to finish — get the [Super Bowl] win because this isn’t the final stop.”
The Eagles tied an NFL playoffs record with seven rushing touchdowns (one more than the Cowboys had all season) in the NFC Championship game. Barkley and Becton choreographed a synchronized end zone celebration of slugging imaginary home runs after Barkley’s third score against the Commanders.
“Let’s go do it again,” Becton quipped.
What a difference a year makes.
