The New York Jets lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-32 in Week 1. While they are 0-1 to start the Aaron Glenn era, there were a lot of positives to take away from the game. One was right tackle Armand Membou, whom the Jets drafted seventh overall in April, and his dominance over TJ Watt. Multiple coaches spoke with Zach Rosenblatt of The Athletic about Membou's historic debut.
“He did a really nice job,” offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand told Rosenblatt. “It wasn’t too big for him. I think everybody is going to get pre-game jitters the night before. I had them. He settled into the game nicely and I think he put a good first showing out there.”
But just how good was Membou's debut? Rosenblatt says it joins some Hall-of-Fame players with great NFL debuts. “According to Pro Football Focus’ grading, Membou had the best overall grade for a rookie tackle in Week 1 since at least 2006. He registered the second-best run-blocking grade during that stretch, behind only Lane Johnson — and only five offensive tackles had a better pass-blocking grade in their Week 1 debut: Taylor Decker, Ronnie Stanley, Rashawn Slater, Michael Oher, and Hall-of-Famer Joe Thomas.”
Back to the coaches, offensive line coach Steve Heiden said, “He had a good day — we expect him to play well. Each opponent is new and different. I think the thing that I appreciated most about how he performed is how he prepared during the week. The kid was preparing for the looks. He attacked it the right way.”
Finally, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, “He's committed to being a really, really good player and the time he’s spent in the film room, the time he spends on the field, the time he spends with his teammates trying to be the best that he can be — you see that with him on a daily basis. I'm excited about that player. We're all excited about that player. He's going to be a good player for us for a long time.”
