Eagles Film Review: Should Mekhi Becton be re-signed?

It’s the NFL offseason, so it’s time to get into the Eagles’ upcoming free agents before we get into draft season. I’ll give my general thoughts and some clips to back them up, then conclude with my overall thoughts on the player and whether he should be re-signed. This time, I will look at Milton Williams. All stats in this one are Pro Football Focus and from the regular season only.

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Previously: Zack Baun / Milton Williams

Stats

I do find PFF grades somewhat amusing at times. Becton ranks 17th in PFF grade, but the numbers do not show the 17th-best offensive guard. As always, I always show the stats to provide some context but you cannot evaluate anyone by looking at numbers.

Overall

I think Mekhi Becton had a mixed bag of a year. I was surprised when the Eagles signed him to play guard, but I think it was another smart move by Howie Roseman. I assume Jeff Stoutland saw something in Becton, and it worked! Becton made some of the most impressive blocks on film this year, where he just dominated defensive linemen and made them look silly. He is an enormous human being who can make large men look very small!

This was one of my favorite blocks of the season. This is crazy. I think good offensive line play is all about partnerships, and Becton and Cam Jurgens had a good connection this year. They had a good understanding of when to climb to the 2nd level and when to get off double teams. It wasn’t perfect, and the Eagles had a few too many miscommunication errors this year, but I think Jurgens and Becton worked well together.

Considering Becton is so big, I did worry whether he could handle pulling and being on the move. I think he handled it well. He wasn’t a weapon out in space in the screen game like some former Eagles’ guards, but he has enough athleticism to pull effectively in the gap scheme run game and moves well enough to get lateral in the outside zone game. I don’t think Becton held back the Eagles’ run game this year. The run game was extremely diverse and that’s a testament to Becton’s ability to handle several different run schemes.

The most significant weakness in Becton’s game is his pass protection. It’s not a huge concern, but he can look slightly lumbering against some quicker defensive linemen. Considering his size, I was surprised that he struggled to anchor at times against speed-to-power rushers, too. I am sure he will improve this if he continues to play guard and becomes used to the technique.

Unsurprisingly, he did have issues with communication and handling pressure at times. He’s been a tackle throughout his career, and playing at guard is a very different challenge. Teams are far more likely to target guards in pass protection with double-A gap pressures and interior rushers from the 2nd level. I think it’s a more mentally challenging position to play than tackle, although less athletically demanding. Becton wasn’t perfect and did have some misses, but for his year at guard it was pretty good. I expected some issues at the start!

Re-sign?

I have a suspicion that Becton will want to stay with the Eagles. Why wouldn’t he? Who gets to go to Stoutland University and wants to leave? Becton was a former 1st round pick who earned a decent amount of money due to his rookie contract. Maybe someone else will pay him more than the Eagles, but I don’t think anyone will give him a massive pay day. Investing in Becton as a tackle would be a serious risk after a year of solid guard play. I think Becton had a good year, but if I was another team’s General Manager, I wouldn’t be watching Becton’s film and think that he is a guy who deserves a ‘huge’ contract.

Becton will turn 26 in April and would be worth investing in. If the Eagles can get him to re-sign to a relatively team-friendly deal, I think he proved a reliable starting guard in this league. His size and power add a lot to this team’s run game. It’s hard to complain when the Eagles had one of the best rushing attacks, ever!

I was a fan of Tyler Steen heading into the 2024 season, but I didn’t see anything this year that made me desperate to see him as a starter anytime soon. He was inconsistent in his limited snaps, and it would be risky to hand him a starting job. The Eagles’ offensive line is this team’s biggest strength, and investing in your most significant strength is always smart.

If Becton gets a big contract elsewhere, you shake his hand and wish him well. He is not a player to whom the Eagles should be committing a massive amount of money. However, I’ve got a feeling he may want to stay with the Eagles and continue to work with Stoutland, so the Eagles might be able to get him on a team-friendly deal for a couple of years. I think that works well for both parties.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.