The Jets’ next quarterback will need help on the outside, another wide receiver opposite Garrett Wilson a priority.
It is possible he will need help at running back, considering Breece Hall is set to hit free agency (although he could be franchise-tagged or locked up). For the team to be any good, he will need upgrades all over a young and poor defense.
One discovery from this otherwise dreadful season, though, might be that the future Jets quarterback will not need further help staying upright.
It is rare a rebuilding and talent-deficient team arguably has an entire offensive line just about set, but the Jets can find silver linings on their line and, in particular, with Armand Membou.
The seventh-overall pick from Missouri has stepped in as a 21-year-old rookie playing against some of the most imposing grown men in the sport at one of the most important positions in the sport and has more than held his own.
For a third game last weekend, he was credited with zero pressures allowed.
For the year, the rookie who has been legally allowed to drink alcohol for about nine months has been ranked as the 12th-best starting right tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.
Membou is not surprised at how seamless the transition has been.
“I left college for a reason. I knew I was ready,” the lineman listed as 6-foot-4, 332 pounds said after practice Friday. “I think I’ve had a pretty solid year.”
Others around the Jets were more effusive.
“I think he’s been a damn good player for us,” head coach Aaron Glenn said of the tackle who has excelled both in pass protection and clearing holes for Hall.
The tone for his season was set immediately, debuting against the Steelers and keeping T.J. Watt from recording a sack while not allowing then-starting quarterback Justin Fields to be pressured once.
“I’ve been impressed with him, definitely proud of what he has been able to do this season,” said Joe Tippmann, who has lined up next to Membou after shifting from center to right guard when Alijah Vera-Tucker went down. “The way he’s been able to show up in OTAs and just roll into the season, roll right into that starting job — the way he’s handled it, the way he’s been able to attack every game, I’m definitely proud of the way he’s done that.”
On a team that has failed to compete this season and failed to establish many building blocks for next season, Membou and the offensive line are outliers.
Membou, Tippmann, center Josh Myers, young left tackle Olu Fashanu and left guard John Simpson have started every game together.
The bulk of that line is expected back next season, the unknown being a possible decision between impending free agents Vera-Tucker and Simpson.
That is the kind of continuity that might be able to help a solid group reach the next level and protect whoever the front office decides is the Jets quarterback of the future.
“Being able to jell with the guys this year, we’ve been pretty healthy, apart from AVT,” Membou said. “I feel like this group has a chance to be special.”
“I think my rookie year, I started with like 13, 14 different starting O-lines,” the third-year Tippmann added. “To be able to do this … that continuity, it’s something that just keeps growing, keeps building. It’s something that you can definitely hang your hat on and just be able to be confident in how we’re going to be able to grow.”
The growth this season has not yielded much, three quarterbacks getting shots and none mattering. The development has stalled with undrafted rookie QB Brady Cook, who was sacked eight times in Sunday’s loss in New Orleans largely because of indecision and holding the ball for too long.
The expectations for the rest of the season are virtually nonexistent, and Sunday against the Patriots figures to be even more of a mismatch than it was back in Week 11.
But in yet another beating at Foxborough, Mass., the Jets offensive line had opened enough holes to create 140 rush yards on 5.0 yards per carry. The pass game was, well, less impressive.
Asked this week about the rematch, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel immediately referenced the Jets line.
“I really enjoy watching their offensive line,” Vrabel told reporters. “I think it’s a good group — it’s a very young and talented group on the outside. I love the play demeanor of the guys inside.”
