By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
For the second time in as many years, the New York Jets used their first round pick to bolster their offensive line and looked to the University of Missouri to do it.
Mizzou offensive lineman Armand Membou was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday night by the Jets. Being picked seventh overall ties Membou for the second highest pick in the draft, tied with Aldon Smith who was drafted seventh overall by the San Fransisco 49ers in 2011.
Measuring in at a powerful albeit slightly undersized 6-foot-4 and 332 pounds with 33-and-a-half inch arms at the NFL Combine, Membou is an athletic freak, running a 4.91 40-yard dash with a 34-inch vertical. What he may lack in height, Membou makes up for with quickness, agility, and excellent hand usage.
While the Jets will likely say there is an open competition, it’s fair to assume that the team will want to plug Membou in at right tackle right away. With Tyron Smith retiring and Morgan Moses gone, it’s time for a youth movement at both tackle spots — and last year’s first-round pick Olu Fashanu on the left and Membou on the right could make up a very talented pair of bookend tackles for years to come in New York.
On paper, a starting offensive line of Fashanu, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Membou, from left to right, would give the Jets a very talented, and relatively young, offensive line, which could be exactly what the doctor ordered for Justin Fields as he learns a new offense.
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