For once, the New York Jets didn’t overthink things. With a gaping hole at right tackle and a ready-made answer in front of them, the Jets made the obvious (and wise) decision to select Missouri’s Armand Membou with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Membou, a three-year SEC starter and one of college football’s most dependable lineman, provides the Jets with a ready-to-play option at right tackle opposite Olu Fashanu. It’s a combination that might solidify the team’s offensive line for the next decade.
After Morgan Moses left in free agency and stopgap veteran Chukwuma Okorafor was brought in as insurance, Membou provides the long-term option this team sorely requires.
This decision is about identity for Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey’s new government, not merely need. The Jets are working through the trenches, protecting their rookie quarterback, Justin Fields, and finally committing to front-line stability.
Armand Membou is the dull, home run draft pick that the New York Jets needed.
The best draft picks tackle today’s problems without creating new ones for tomorrow. That is exactly what Armand Membou contributes to the Jets. He’s not only a remedy to the team’s glaring hole at right tackle—he’s a long-term investment in the foundation of this offense.
The Jets wanted a ready-to-play starter on the right side, and Membou, one of the fastest risers in this class following a great NFL Combine performance, fits the description better than anyone.
But what makes this decision exceptionally wise is how it fits with the Jets’ overall roster structure. For the first time in years, the offensive line is no longer among the organization’s weakest links.
The Jets have four quality starters already under contract for 2025: Olu Fashanu, Joe Tippmann, John Simpson, and Alijah Vera-Tucker, all of whom are under the age of 28. That core provides the Jets with uncommon continuity and youth up front, which few other teams can claim. Membou glides into the last remaining hole, completing the group.
That steadiness, however, may be ephemeral. Both starting guards, Simpson and Vera-Tucker, are expected to become free agents following the 2025 season. It’s unlikely the Jets will be able to keep both, especially if they replicate their successful 2024 seasons.
Membou’s experience and skill set provide flexibility for the future. While he is primarily a tackle, his size and athleticism may allow him to move inside if necessary in the future. Some organizations believe he is best suited to play offensive guard in the NFL.
More than anything, Membou represents the type of foundational component that this new regime plainly cherishes. For a team seeking to protect a freshly acquired quarterback in Justin Fields while developing a new identity under head coach Aaron Glenn, Membou symbolizes a selection that’s equal parts safe and ambitious.
It also follows the approach used by Glenn’s former team, the Detroit Lions, whose new management took a similar move in 2021 by picking Oregon’s Penei Sewell to strengthen their right line.
That selection helped create the groundwork for what has since become one of the NFL’s top offensive lines and a key component of Detroit’s comeback. The Jets are hoping Membou will help them build a similar identity.
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