Mekhi Becton – OT (Louisville)
Mekhi Becton is a junior that plays for the Louisville Cardinals. He’s another mountain of a man standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing 369-pounds. Becton went to high school at Highland Springs and played left tackle. He was widely considered one of the top players in Virginia.
He was a four-star recruit according to Rivals and was ranked as the number one offensive lineman in Virginia and the 20th offensive tackle in the nation. He helped his high school team repeat as state champions his senior year and was a Class 5-A All-State selection. Becton chose Louisville over other schools such as Oregon, Georgia, Michigan, and Michigan State.
Becton started all 10 games he appeared in during his freshman year. That year the Cardinals offense finished third nationally and averaged 245.1 yards rushing. In his sophomore year, Becton started all 13 games for the Cardinals, each of which was at tackle.
This year, Becton is starting at left tackle and showing why he is one of the best tackles in the nation. He has tremendous hand usage and for a man of his size, he has very good mobility. He’s able to bully defenders around and protects his quarterbacks blindside extremely well. In Week 2, Becton was awarded to Pro Football Focus’ National Team of the Week after his performance against Eastern Kentucky.
Becton is a borderline first-round prospect, so if the Vikings want him they’re going to have to reach a bit because he probably isn’t going to be there for their second-round pick. With big left tackles being highly sought after, Becton fits that mold and would fit right in with this offensive line.
With what the Vikings have at offensive line right now, if they chose to draft Becton they could slide Riley Reiff inside and have a line that consists of Becton Reiff Bradburry Kline and O’Neill from left to right. Not a bad set up.