Mekhi Becton feels it every day: He wakes up and is eager to get to the NovaCare Complex and get to work as a student at Stoutland University. He understands the purpose of his journey here, and that is to help the Philadelphia Eagles any way he can.
And to do that, Becton says, he is tasked with being the best football player he can be at any position the Eagles ask him to play.
"Doesn't matter to me. I am loving being here in every way. I feel like I'm in a family. I really mean that," Becton said. "The way people have welcomed me here, it's been great. And I don't think people understand what that means for a player.
"For me, I come to work and I feel great about where I'm at and what I'm here to do. I want to be a great football player, the best. That's what I'm working on every day."
Becton, the 11th player picked in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Louisville, played four injury-plagued seasons with the New York Jets before signing with the Eagles in free agency. He knows already that he made the right decision.
He feels it.
And he played that way through the spring, seeing time at left guard with Landon Dickerson out with an excused absence from the team's mandatory minicamp. Becton can also play both tackle positions – he started in 30 of the 31 games he played in with the Jets – so versatility helps build depth along the offensive line.
"Doesn't matter to me where I play," he said. "It's different inside at guard than it is at tackle, but I'm getting great coaching and the guys have been really helpful. It's been challenging. I love the challenge. I'm having fun learning as much as I can about what Stout (Jeff Stoutland, run game coordinator/offensive line coach) wants from us. He pushes us to be the best, to bring out the best in us. That's what I want."
Becton has impressed left tackle Jordan Mailata, who said this about the massive 6-foot-7, 363-pound lineman.
"He's doing a good job. He's never played guard in the NFL and doing a great job of trying to teach him in multiple positions," Mailata said. "Stout always talks about the value you add and I think he wants that for Mekhi to see what else Mekhi can do other than tackle. We know he can play tackle, but what else does he bring to the table?"
Becton said that he would love to make this a long-term situation with the Eagles, but he's also taking the day-by-day approach to make himself the kind of player he knows he can be. He is big, strong, athletic, and hungry to help a terrific offensive line become even better.
No matter where he fits in.
"This is a family and you do what you can in a family to help. Anywhere you can help, you help," Becton said. "That's my mindset. I'm having fun, I'm loving being a Philadelphia Eagle, and I'm feeling like I'm playing good football, and I want to get a whole lot better. Every day I'm pushing to improve and doing it with a smile on my face. That means a lot to me."
