Early reports on Jets' first rounder are hit and miss early in training camp

The New York Jets are going to run the football. That is not a secret. They are going to have a game plan that and an attitude that will basically allow the Jets to tell the defense they are going to run the ball and where they are going to run it and dare the defense to stop them. Sound cool, right?

In order to make that style of football work, you need to have a creative run game, which will be on new offensive coordinator, Tanner Engstrand. You need to have dynamic ball-carriers. That will be up to Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis and even Justin Fields. And you need absolute studs up front. You need an offensive line that is strong, agile, technically sound, and mean.

For the New York Jets, they have spent the last few years trying to put that group together. There have been some misses in that endeavor. From Mekhi Becton to Laken Tomlinson, to Connor McGovern, to Duane Brown, the Jets have certainly missed the mark on building the offensive line quarterbacks and running backs dream of.

The 2025 Jets believe they finally have all five pieces in place for a top offensive line in the game. While four of the five starters (I won’t entertain Josh Myers replacing Joe Tippman yet) are returning from last year, the last piece of the puzzle came at the seventh overall pick in April’s NFL draft in the form of Missouri right tackle, Armand Membou.

As it stands, there isn’t too much information on how Membou is adjusting to the NFL game. As ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini points out, it’s hard to judge an offensive lineman in shorts.

Barring something unforeseen, Membou will be the Week 1 starter at right tackle. All indications from the offseason pointed in that direction. It's almost impossible to evaluate an offensive lineman in non-padded practices, but this much was clear in the spring: Membou is an exceptional mover for 332 pounds. That 4.92-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine wasn't a fluke. With that kind of agility, he should be able to block at the second level. He did struggle some against Will McDonald IV, a bendy pass rusher, but offensive linemen are at a disadvantage without pads. Line coach Steve Heiden said, "We've seen all the workout warriors who can't play a lick of ball. Membou can play ball." - Rich Cimini

Membou is everything on paper the Jets could want in a right tackle. The problem is that the game isn’t played on paper. For the record, I think Membou is going to be a fantastic player, but I have been burned before. But it will be hard to judge where he is in his development until the Jets can line up and play against another team.