How a Jeff Stoutland hunch transformed Mekhi Becton into a starting guard

Mekhi Becton’s career as an NFL guard began with much less fanfare than you might have guessed.

He just kind of heard it through the grapevine.

“It was just one of those things, like I just heard everybody talking about it,” Becton recalled. “I remember (Jason) Kelce asked me how did I feel about playing guard. I was like, ‘I mean, I'll try it out? I don't really care.’”

And a guard was born.

Becton played nearly 2,000 snaps in three years with the Jets, every one at tackle. When the Eagles signed him in April?

Jeff Stoutland had this idea.

Let’s take a look at this 6-foot-7, 365-pound behemoth at guard. 

When Jeff Stoutland gets an idea, it’s generally a good idea.

One thing led to another and now, 25 days before the season opener against the Packers, Becton is on track to be the Eagles’ opening-day starter at right guard.

And he’ll become the largest guard in NFL history.

“It's been fun,” Becton said after practice on Sunday. “I mean, I have to follow my brain up into right tackle, left tackle, right guard, left guard. So I'm following my brain on that. So every day I’ve got to pick through the files, see what file I'm picking up today. So yeah, I've just been picking out that right guard file.”

Tyler Steen began training camp as the starting right guard, but while he was out with an ankle injury Becton filled in. And when Steen came back? Becton stayed.

He was the only projected offensive starter to play in the preseason opener in Baltimore, and he got his first live taste of guard with eight snaps before giving way to Steen.

“It was fun, it was cool,” Becton said. “It was of course faster than practice, but it was good. Just carrying my training over from practice to the game, just doing what I usually do. It was actually fun to go against somebody that's not my team for once.

“There's always room for improvement on anything. It's the first time I've ever played right guard in a live game. So of course I'm going to go look at the film with my coach and figure out what he thinks I need to do.”

At 6-foot-7, 365 pounds, Becton is ridiculously big and tall for a guard. He’s got to stay low so shorter interior lineman can’t get under him and gain leverage. And the taller you are, the harder that is. Especially later in a game if you get tired and start to lose your technique.

“If you stand up and you're playing a shorter nose guard, it's hard because they got leverage but again, that's why we don't play football standing straight up and down,” Landon Dickerson said. “There's a lot of pros (to Becton’s size). Longer arms, longer reach can help guys a lot.” 

No guard in NFL history Becton’ size has ever been a full-time starter. According to Stathead, the largest guard to start 10 games in a season is former Card and Cowboy Leonard Davis, who weighed 355. There have been six other guards 6-8 or taller.

Dickerson stands 6-foot-6, 335 pounds, and no team in NFL history has ever had two guards both at least 6-6 and 330 pounds.

“Mekhi's been doing great,” Dickerson said after practice Sunday. “Transitioning to guard, I think he's done well. Started off camp kind of swinging tackles, but I think he's settling into his spot at guard right now. 

“A little bit of an adjustment for him, but you know, the way he's built, the way he can move, his long arms, his reach, lateral quickness, I think right now he's really excelling at that position. It's an adjustment for him, but he's handling it extremely well.”

Cam Jurgens said Stoutland teaches his guys how to be offensive linemen, not how to play one specific position. 

“I think the better you can learn schemes instead of positional things, the better you're going to be off,” said Jurgens, who’s transitioning from right guard last season to center. “So I think, obviously there's little technique deals that change when you go from guard to center or from tackle to (guard). Stout does a really good job when he teaches and puts in plays. 

“He teaches everybody in front of everybody. So I think from the rules of that, learning the scheme as a whole helps you learn it. So then when you go to different positions, it's easy for you to pick things up. 

“How many guys on our o-line have played different spots across the board? So I don't think a lot of teams do that as much as we do.”

For a guy who had no interest in swinging inside to guard with the Jets, Becton has had a great outlook to the move since signing with the Eagles in late April.

And why not? It’s not like he was going to win a job over Jordan Mailata or Lane Johnson.

“I think early on when he got here, he was so happy to be with the Eagles and it was so fun to have him in that room,” Jurgens said. “In OTAs, we would be going through just how many questions he would ask and how engaged he would be and how much he just wanted to learn. 

“It's fun playing next to him because he just enjoys being out there and playing football. You can see he's having a lot of fun with it. And when people are having fun, that rubs off on everybody. It’s fun to be around.”