New York Jets Go “Safe” Route with Membou Pick

The New York Jets beefed up their offensive line Thursday with the selection of right tackle Armand Membou out of Missouri.

At 6-3, 325 lbs, Membou has very good size for a tackle, but what sells him as a top-flight player at the position is that in three years as a starter at Missouri, he gave up only one sack.

That's impressive.

While he may not be the sexy pick that Penn State tight end Tyler Warren would have been had he been selected instead, the Jets solidified their offensive line with the Membou pick.

Now all five players on the Jets' offensive line are under the age of 25, and three-fifths of the line were first-round selections in Membou, last year's first-round selection of left tackle Olu Fashanu, and veteran Alijah-Vera Tucker.

Even former Jets GM Joe Douglas praised the pick of Membou by his successor Darren Mougey and Head Coach Aaron Glenn.

"He has the most upside of any tackle in the draft," Douglas said on a special Draft Day show on Fox Sports Radio.

Of course, when it comes to the Jets, not everyone was on board. ESPN's Peter Schrager - once known as a Jets-pom-pom champion while he was with NFL Network during the Robert Saleh/Joe Douglas era- went scorched earth on the pick, calling Membou a "classic combine eye opener."

We'll ultimately see how this plays out in the coming years, but for a new regime, when it doubt, take the lineman who can provide instant help up front. With Justin Fields running the show under center, it made sense for the Jets to fill the right tackle need.