Jets’ youth movement in full swing on the offensive line

The new Jets regime’s approach to the bookends of the offensive line is a 180 from last year. 

Olu Fashanu, last year’s first-round pick (No. 11), is slated as the starting left tackle. He started seven games last year. And rookie Armand Membou, this year’s first-round pick (No. 7), is expected to start at right tackle. 

The Jets went into last season with Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses — two veterans imported through free agency — as their starting tackles. They had a combined 305 career starts heading into the year — 298 more than this year’s duo have between the two of them. 

The youth movement is in full swing. 

“It just shows the trust that this building has in both me and Armand. I can talk about Armand all day,” Fashanu, already sounding like a mentor, said after practice Saturday. “He’s an extremely hard worker, and he has a very exciting future.” 

Fashanu saw work at both tackle spots along with right guard last year and generally showed well for himself. He owned a respectable 61.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. 

He was drafted with the intention of largely sitting and learning behind Smith and Moses for at least a season, but injuries prompted a bigger role than expected. Now under a new regime, he’s front and center with the Jets leaning on him to help anchor the offensive line unit. 

“This started back in OTAs, he committed a number of days of just being here,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “I’m not just talking about the times that he had to be here as far as the workouts. He was here on the weekends getting work in, on his own. He is committed to making sure that he’s available, for one, and then also that he’s gonna be a huge part of what we’re trying to build when it comes to the O-line. Those guys do a really good job of communicating. Those guys do a really good job of being around each other, getting to know each other. 

“He’s a big, physical man with long arms, you want your left tackle to be built the way he’s built. I’m excited about that player. I’m excited about how he’s gonna mature as camp goes on.” 

Fashanu has bulked up this offseason, wanting to play at a heavier weight this year. But his biggest area of growth has not been physical. 

“Coming into this season, I’m a lot more confident than I was last year,” Fashanu said. “That’s just something that everyone works with, the concept of self-doubt. I did a lot of work on my mental over the offseason. Coming into this camp, I feel a lot better, a lot more confident knowing my abilities and that I can go out there and dominate every play.” 

Both Fashanu and Membou have had their hands full trying to block Will McDonald IV. McDonald enjoyed a breakout season last year and has looked dominant to start training camp. 

“Will’s my biggest opp right now,” Membou said. “Going against him, it’s a really tough matchup. But it’s also really competitive and been really fun. And after practice too, I’ll go talk to him, ask him tips about what he sees about my game, my sets and stuff. It’s been good work. … Going against him, I know once I get to the game, it’s gonna make me a lot better.” 

McDonald badly beat Membou twice in 11-on-11s during Saturday’s practice — once with speed using a spin move and once with power using a bull rush. 

“It is great for Membou to see that,” Glenn said. “There’s not a lot of guys with the agility and the speed that Will has, that he’s gonna see in this league. For him to see that on a daily basis, and plus now he knows Will will rush with power. Between both of those guys, the chess match is gonna be interesting to see as we move on.”