The New York Jets’ 28-point defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars was their most substantial blowout loss in a season filled with them. Yet, their two brightest silver linings still shined through the darkness once more.

New York might have a high-end bookend tackle duo in Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou.

Jets don’t have much, but they do have 2 of the most important spots locked down

For optimism-starved Jets fans, it’s hard to find much on this New York roster to get excited about. The defense is down to bare bones, fielding a lineup that would be hard-pressed to win a preseason game. The offense rarely flashes the ability to even perform at an average level, falling under 300 total yards in eight of its past nine games.

If nothing else, though, it is becoming increasingly likely that the Jets have found their long-term solutions at two of the most important spots on the football field: left tackle and right tackle.

In Sunday’s 48-20 loss to Jacksonville, left tackle Olu Fashanu and right tackle Armand Membou quietly enjoyed impressive outings. They were instrumental pieces in helping the Jets’ offense look surprisingly competent given the circumstances.

In a road game against a top-10 defense with an undrafted rookie quarterback making his first career start, along with no Garrett Wilson or Mason Taylor, the Jets still dropped 20 points, a relatively promising effort that was overshadowed by a defensive performance so ghastly that it got the defensive coordinator fired. New York’s anchors up front deserve the most credit for the competent offensive output.

Across 41 pass-blocking snaps apiece, Fashanu and Membou were credited with allowing just one pressure each. Their pressure rates were a paltry 2.4%, highly impressive given the circumstances.

Jacksonville held a multi-score lead for the majority of New York’s offensive snaps, allowing the Jaguars’ pass rush to tee off on a rookie making his first start, all in front of a raucous road crowd. Yet, the Jets’ gifted tackles continuously rose to the occasion and kept their young passer safe despite the unfavorable context.

In this reel of standout moments from Brady Cook in his starting debut, you can see Fashanu and Membou consistently doing their parts to help Cook succeed.

Sunday was just the latest game in Fashanu’s extending hot streak. After a rough start to his second NFL season, Fashanu has been playing like an elite left tackle for almost two months.

Over his last eight games, Fashanu has earned a pass-blocking grade of 82.4 from Pro Football Focus, ranking sixth-best among qualified left tackles (min. 250 offensive snaps) from Weeks 7-15:

  1. Andrew Thomas, NYG (86.8)
  2. Garett Bolles, DEN (86.0)
  3. Laremy Tunsil, WAS (85.9)
  4. Jake Matthews, ATL (83.2)
  5. Tristan Wirfs, TB (82.4)
  6. Olu Fashanu, NYJ (82.4)
  7. Trent Williams, SF (82.4)
  8. Bernhard Raimann, IND (79.9)
  9. Jordan Mailata, PHI (79.5)
  10. Rasheed Walker, GB (77.4)

Fashanu is in phenomenal company. He is one of seven left tackles with an 80.0+ pass-blocking grade over this span, and each of the other six have Pro Bowl and/or All-Pro pedigrees.

Membou has been on a rampage of his own across the very same span. He got off to a faster start in 2025 than Fashanu, but was still up-and-down through six games. Over his last eight, though, Membou has begun to establish incredible consistency in pass protection for a 21-year-old rookie.

Since Week 7, Membou has earned a pass-blocking grade of 75.1, ranking eighth-best among qualified right tackles (min. 250 offensive snaps) over that span:

  1. Luke Goedeke, TB (81.5)
  2. Penei Sewell, DET (79.3)
  3. Larry Borom, MIA (78.9)
  4. Brian O’Neill, MIN (77.9)
  5. Zach Tom, GB (77.9)
  6. Braden Smith, IND (75.6)
  7. Roger Rosengarten, BAL (75.6)
  8. Armand Membou, NYJ (75.1)
  9. Troy Fautanu, PIT (75.1)
  10. Jawaan Taylor, KC (73.2)

Membou has improved slightly over this stretch compared to the first month or so, but the reality is that he’s been cooking since day one. The Missouri product’s year-long grades are looking excellent in both phases. On the season, he not only ranks 11th among 34 right tackles (min. 400 offensive snaps) in pass-blocking grade (72.8), but he’s also 13th in run-blocking grade (75.0). We saw some great run blocks from him in Duval County.

Fashanu, however, can use improvement in the run game. His season-long run-blocking grade is 58.6 (21st out of 31 left tackles), and even over his improved stretch of pass protection since Week 7, his run-blocking grade is still down at 58.2, so his progress has only occurred in the pass game. The Jets would love to see him focus on run blocking this offseason as he prepares for his third season.

Nonetheless, the Jets should be ecstatic about where these young tackles stand in their development as pass blockers. Fashanu and Membou are a combined 44 years old and entered the season with five NFL starts at left tackle. Yet, despite their inexperience and the wildly unfavorable circumstances for pass-blocking, here they are, both ranking as top-8 pass protectors at their respective positions over the last half-season’s worth of games.

As the Jets prepare to potentially welcome a rookie quarterback into the building, they could hardly ask for a better pair of supporting pieces than two rapidly improving pass-blocking tackles with first-round pedigrees.