FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Geno Smith has seen a lot of offensive lines in his 13 NFL seasons. He says this Jets group, and specifically its bookend tackles, might be the best pairing he’s played behind.
“Those guys are extremely talented,” Smith said of left tackle Olu Fashanu and right tackle Armand Membou, according to a post from the Jets’ official X account. “They work extremely hard. I mean, massive guys. You can see them out there on the field. They’re firing off the ball.”
Geno on the tackle tandem of Olu and Membou: "those guys are extremely talented" pic.twitter.com/o8eR7c3fx8
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 6, 2026
It’s the kind of praise that’s been building all camp. Fashanu, last year’s 11th overall pick, and Membou, a first-rounder in 2025, have started to look like the tackle pairing New York has been trying to build for over a decade. The pads have been popping in Florham Park, and for once, the offensive line is the reason people are showing up early to watch practice.
How Fashanu and Membou Became Friends First, Bookends Second
The on-field chemistry didn’t happen overnight. According to the New York Daily News, the two tackles’ relationship started slow, then turned into one of the tighter bonds on the roster.
“Him coming into the facility the next week (after the 2025 NFL Draft), he was just a robot,” Fashanu said of Membou. “He didn’t say anything. But as he spent more time around us and got to know us a bit more, he definitely showed his personality a lot more. He’s probably the funniest guy I know.”
Fashanu added that the two clicked once they realized how much their senses of humor lined up. “His sense of humor and mine are the same, and I feel like that’s kind of how we got closer,” he said.
That growing bond off the field has shown up on it. A separate camp report from SI’s Jets on Onsi described Membou as playing like the best offensive player on the roster through the first stretch of camp, with Fashanu doing steady, unheralded work alongside him.
Membou isn’t satisfied yet. He wants to make it a habit, not a hot streak.
“I want to earn the respect of my peers in the league and become a top tackle,” Membou said. “I feel like if I’m able to do my part and help my team, and if we have team success, it’ll showcase the other great players that we have.”
Smith Credits the Whole Line, Not Just the Tackles
Smith made a point of not letting the conversation stop at tackle. He circled back to center Josh Myers, the player tasked with getting the whole unit lined up before the snap.
“It starts with (center) Josh right there in the middle,” Smith said. “He’s so smart. He gets everybody lined up, (and) he communicates well. And then left to right, each one of those guys working together. Offensive line, they play as a unit.”
Smith added that singling out one or two players misses the point of how offensive line play actually works. “You can’t just single one or two guys out because they all have to play well together,” he said. “I think that is coming along. But I’m really impressed with the start of camp.”
That continuity matters. Last season’s starting five — Fashanu, John Simpson, Myers, Joe Tippmann and Membou — became the first Jets offensive line to start all 17 regular-season games together since 2012, when D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Matt Slauson, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore and Austin Howard did it. Four of those five starters are back in 2026.
| Player | Position | Draft Status |
|---|---|---|
| Olu Fashanu | Left Tackle | 2025 first-round pick (No. 11 overall) |
| Armand Membou | Right Tackle | 2025 first-round pick (No. 7 overall) |
| Josh Myers | Center | Veteran starter |
Why It Matters for Smith and the Offense
Smith is walking into a very different situation than the one he left in Las Vegas, where he absorbed a career-high 55 sacks last season. A tackle duo that can hold up on an island changes what offensive coordinator Frank Reich can ask Smith to do — more time in the pocket, more shots down the field, fewer designed quick-game throws just to survive.
It also comes at a moment when Smith could use a clean, football-only storyline. He addressed the media last month for the first time since a June incident with a former girlfriend that went viral on social media, saying he regretted becoming a distraction for the team. The Davie, Florida police department closed its investigation without charges. Veteran linebacker Demario Davis, one of the team’s locker-room leaders, said afterward that Smith has the support of his teammates. “We have a tight brotherhood in this locker room,” Davis said. “Nobody is operating in a silo on this team.”
With that chapter closed, the on-field competition has taken over the conversation at Florham Park — and right now, that conversation keeps circling back to the tackles.
The Jets open the preseason on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the coming days, giving Fashanu and Membou their first look at game speed against an opponent since last season.
