Huge leap turned Jets’ NFL Draft pick Mekhi Becton ‘nasty’

Scott Satterfield took over as Louisville’s head football coach in December 2018. It was then that he had his first team meeting to introduce himself.

As the meeting ended, each player lined up to meet his new coach. When it was Mekhi Becton’s turn, Satterfield nearly hurt his neck looking up at the 6-foot-7 tackle.

“I was kind of shaking everyone’s hand,” Satterfield told The Post on Friday. “All these guys are walking by and I’m looking eye level with all of them and then here he comes and I have to look up to the ceiling.

“I just stared at him and thought, ‘My God, who are you?’ When you see him for the first time, you’re just like, ‘Wow.’ There’s not many people walking around that size.”

Jets fans will get to experience that this season when Becton, the team’s first-round pick, takes the field. As blown away as Satterfield was by Becton’s size, he was equally surprised when he saw him practice.

“I just remember the first day we had spring practice and was able to see him move around,” Satterfield said. “He moves incredibly well for someone that size.”

The Jets saw that on film and at the NFL Scouting Combine where the 364-pound Becton ran the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds. It was what made the Jets staff so excited when Becton was available Thursday night with the 11th pick.

“We’re so excited to add a guy his size and athletic ability, a guy we really feel can fortify our front for the long term,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas said. “Obviously, the first thing that jumps out when you see Mekhi play is the size and the ease of his ability to move, his footwork and then his heavy hands. He can move people off the ball.”

Becton made a huge leap in his play from 2018 to 2019. He credited the coaching change with helping him. Satterfield said Becton was about 390 pounds when he was hired and the staff worked with him to get his weight down to 360-365.

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Satterfield credited Becton with working on his weight and also being receptive to coaching. The change was clear when Louisville’s season arrived.

“He got so much better as the year went on,” Satterfield said. “There really wasn’t any comparison between his 2018 film and his 2019 film. He was way more aggressive this year. He finished blocks. Last year, he’d be one and done. He’d hit a guy and just stand up. Throughout the season this year, he was finishing guys. You can see on film he’d knock a guy down and then he’d go after him and knock him down again and in some instances, knock him down three times in the same play. You never saw that on film the year before.”

Satterfield pointed to Becton’s willingness to take coaching as a huge plus for him as he begins his NFL career.

“He’s willing to learn. That’s huge,” Satterfield said. “He doesn’t think he’s arrived. I think he’ll just get better and better.”

Becton also was popular with his teammates and around the Louisville program.

“On a personal level, he was like a teddy bear to everybody,” Satterfield said. “Our kids would come up to the office and he was great with them. He always has a smile on his face.”

Satterfield said that smile only leaves Becton’s face on the field when he gets aggressive. Becton described his approach: “I think my demeanor’s real nasty. I like to see the man on the ground stay on the ground. When I finish them, I like to stay on top.”

As for the flagged drug test at the scouting combine, Satterfield said that is not indicative of who Becton is.

“I was shocked. For us, he did everything we asked him to do,” Satterfield said. “We didn’t have any issues whatsoever. He was on time for meetings. He did what he was supposed to do. He was a good leader for the rest of our team. That’s all I can gauge it on.”