The NFL Draft is less than a month away and big boards all over the country are shuffling around. As Pro Days start to come to an end, NFL teams are finalizing their draft boards. One of the biggest risers on many boards since the end of the football season has been Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou.
Membou is very athletic and there is a chance that he could play either tackle spot despite lining up primarily at right tackle during his time at Missouri. There are a number of teams picking high in the draft that have needs at tackle, and Membou has emerged as a strong candidate to go that high.
Eli Drinkwitz, Membou’s college coach in the SEC, certainly thinks his guy is worthy of a top pick. During the lead-in to the draft, Drinkwitz urged any team with a franchise quarterback to draft Membou to protect him for the foreseeable future, according to Mike Pendleton of Bears Wire.
“I was trying to get him to come back cause I thought he could be the first overall pick next season,” Drinkwitz said on Up and Adams with Kay Adams. “He believed in himself and said he’s going to go prove that he can play tackle in the NFL. We all knew he was going to test unbelievable at the combine. When you watch the tape, he’s got rare athleticism and raw strength, he can play both guard and tackle, I believe he’ll play early.
“If you’re a team that has a franchise quarterback, the best friend of a franchise quarterback is a solid left tackle or right tackle that you know can block anybody in the NFL. Armand has given up only three sacks in 2,100 snaps. If you’re in the Top 10 and you have a franchise quarterback, I think you’d be absolutely crazy, if your quarterback has been getting hit a ton, to not take Membou.”
Some people may take that as a message directly to the Chicago Bears, who struggled mightily to protect Caleb Williams during his rookie season after selecting him No. 1 overall in 2024. Drafting a player like Membou in the first round would go a long way towards helping them sole that problem.
The Bears have the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL Draft coming up in late April, and there are plenty of different avenues that they can go in with that pick. However, drafting an offensive lineman such as Membou could be the missing piece that they are looking for to take a big step forward next season.