Jets tackles Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou set up for a decade of success

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Olu Fashanu usually doesn’t like looking too far ahead. But something has crossed his mind, and it’s been discussed by two parties.

Fashanu and Armand Membou could be bookend tackles for the Jets for many years.

“We’ve talked about it,” Fashanu told Newsday. “Honestly, I feel like that’s kind of big-picture, and with [Aaron Glenn], one of his emphases is just keeping it week-to-week, maximizing everything you can for that exact week. So I haven’t really thought about it too much, but I’d be ignorant to not think about that and the potential that Armand and I have.”

Fashanu, 23, was the Jets’ first-round pick in 2024 and will start his 24th straight game at left tackle Sunday in Buffalo. Membou, 21, was their first-round pick in 2025. He’s started at right tackle every game, missing only one offensive snap.

For all the things the Jets have gotten wrong, particularly at quarterback, they seem to have gotten the last first-round pick of the Joe Douglas-Robert Saleh era (Fashanu) and the first of the Darren Mougey-Glenn era (Membou) right. It’s a positive for whenever the Jets do find a franchise quarterback. They have the two tackle positions covered, possibly for a long time.

“I think that’d be really good if I could look up in 10 years and still have Olu as my teammate,” Membou told Newsday. “We both know that we want to take over the tackles here for a while.”

Fashanu, the No. 11 pick out of Penn State, had the lowest pressure percentage (7.1%) and sack percentage (0.5%) of any rookie last season. He ranked in the top 10 among all left tackles in those categories. This season, he’s allowed two or fewer pressures in nine games, according to Pro Football Focus.

Membou, taken seventh from Missouri, has allowed one or zero pressures in eight games — the best of any rookie tackle. Membou is one of seven rookies since 2021 to do that.

They’re part of an O-line that has helped Breece Hall become the Jets’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015. The Jets are seventh in rushing yards per game (126.7).

Glenn envisions Fashanu and Membou being bookend tackles for the Jets well beyond their rookie contracts.

“First-round picks, guys that had a damn good year in my opinion, absolutely you do,” Glenn said. “You never know how those things go, but absolutely, any time you have draft picks of that magnitude, absolutely you want to see them here for 10, 12 years.”

Membou and Fashanu spend a lot of time together. Membou doesn’t ask too many questions because he picks things up quickly. When he does have a question, Fashanu and tackle Chukwuma Okorafor are his go-to guys.

Fashanu can relate because he was in Membou’s shoes last season when new and different things were thrown at him. Fashanu leaned on future Hall of Fame left tackle Tyron Smith and well-respected Morgan Moses. Fashanu eventually replaced Smith because of injury.

Fashanu indicated Membou is further ahead than he was as a rookie.

“I think he just gets it,” he said. “When you got a guy like Membou, he already knows what to do and he has a good general grasp of the game. When he asks a question, which really isn’t that often, it’s a pretty important question.”

Left guard John Simpson realized pretty quickly that the Jets are in good shape at the tackle positions.

Simpson referred to Membou as “one of the better rookies I’ve been around” and made sure to mention Fashanu among them. They learned things quickly and didn’t carry themselves like rookies.

Teammates have described Membou as “a dawg,” “super-relentless,” “an animal” and “a cornerstone of this organization.” Some of the words used for Fashanu include “a special talent,” “an absolute sponge” and “a technician.”

“It’s one thing to come in as a rookie and start from Day One,” Simpson said of Membou. “But coming in and being good, there’s a lot that comes with it, and he’s talented as hell.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.