Might shake out like that but it’s proven production

Big time get considering all we've lost in the pass rush department.

Might actually be an upgrade. Nwawieri looks like Tarzan. So far he has played like Jane.

He was the third-best freshman DE on the roster last year.

I found this story this morning on the 33rd team. I like Membou, but never thought about him going first round.

Missouri right tackle Armand Membou entered the season as a potential Day 2 pick, but he’s vaulted himself into the first round, and at this point, it would surprise me if he made it out of the top 20.

Membou is my highest-graded tackle in the 2025 Draft class, my second-ranked offensive lineman, and my 13th-ranked player overall.


There’s some uncertainty about whether he ends up at tackle or guard, but he can play outside in the NFL. Of all the potential guard converts in this class, I feel the most confident in Membou thriving at tackle by a comfortable margin.

SIZE/ATHLETICISM
Membou has an unconventional build for an offensive tackle. As a true junior, we don’t have official measurements from the summer, but he’s listed at 6-foot-3, 325 pounds. I would estimate his arm length is between 34.5 and 35 inches.

Because most NFL tackles are tall, there’s a misconception that height is an important trait for that position, and many people will want Membou to move inside because he looks more like a guard. But nothing that an offensive tackle does requires being tall, and height is actually a limiting factor when it comes to anchoring and playing with proper leverage. If given the choice, I would prefer a tackle to be 6-foot-2 rather than 6-foot-8.
Membou is a very good athlete for his size and ranked 39th on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List. According to Feldman, Membou runs a 1.63 10-yard split (99th percentile) and was clocked at 21.8 mph. He doesn’t appear quite that explosive on tape, but his acceleration, range, and fluidity are firmly above average for an offensive tackle.

STATISTICS
He allowed nine pressures and zero sacks in 2024 and ranked ninth in pressure rate among tackles in the 2025 Draft class.


PASS BLOCKING
Membou has impressive foot speed and pocket range for a player of his size. He has good burst into his pass sets and is able to expand his set point and gain depth later in the rep. His foot speed and arm length create a wide corner to cut off outside rushes.


He primarily uses an outside hand punch in pass protection, which can be a risky strategy as it leaves the tackle vulnerable to getting cornered if his hand gets swiped/chopped down. For the most part, Membou does a great job of timing his punch so it lands on the rusher’s frame when it’s most exposed.

He has outstanding strike power and grip strength, which results in some devastating finishes but also allows him to stay connected for the entire rep. Many tackles land their punch accurately but can't survive a swipe or cross-chop and end up losing the edge. Membou stabs and latches with enough power to withstand the rusher’s move and tie him up.
He flashed some advanced inside hand usage and can read moves and work both hands in unison. This rep against Nic Scourton is one of Membou’s best plays from the season.

He initially punched with the outside hand, anticipated the cross-chop, and then fired his inside hand with perfect timing to neutralize the move. At the exact moment Scourton lifts his right arm and exposes his frame, Membou stabs the armpit and completely locks him out:


He'll also use his inside hand to proactively counter certain moves while keeping his outside hand free to corral his opponent when they press the corner. On these reps, Membou swats down the rusher’s inside hand the moment they extend it to defend against a long-arm or cross-chop. His outside hand is unoccupied, so he can reload with a two-hand punch and finish the play.


Membou is sometimes too “heavy” with his outside hand strike and lunges into the defender, causing him to lose through the B-gap. This was an issue for him a couple of times against Vanderbilt in Week 4, but he improved later in the season.


Overall, he is very fluid, sliding with counters, and has a strong inside hand to stay in phase as he redirects. As long as he strikes from a balanced platform, he's athletic enough to mirror pass rushers on an island in both directions.

There's a lot more, including video clips, if you want to check out the link. It's free content. No paywall

https://www.the33rdteam.com/2025-nfl...ensive-tackle/

Trade up Burnt Vag.

Here's another interesting read that I came across. I included the first part, with the link below if you are interested in the rest.

In the midst of the American heartland, one SEC program is quietly building one of the strongest programs in the entire country.

At first glance the Missouri Tigers, a former Big 12 staple, may seem out of place in the Southeastern Conference as opposed to the Big 10 with their fellow midwestern schools. However, the Tigers are using that intersection of football cultures to build a program destined to be a mainstay of the new college football landscape of NIL, the transfer portal and the 12-team College Football Playoff.


Consecutive 10 win seasons and a rising program
After three losing seasons to start his tenure at Missouri, Eli Drinkwitz has completely turned the program around in the last two seasons.


Over the past two years, just eight Power Four programs have finished with double-digit wins in each year: Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Penn State, Ole Miss, SMU and Missouri. All of these teams except the Tigers and Rebels have a recent College Football Playoff berth. It feels like only a matter of time before Mizzou joins their ranks with the program’s first CFP appearance.

The Tigers had six players drafted in 2024, tied for 11th-most among all schools with LSU and Clemson. Both of those schools have won national championships in the last decade. Missouri is earning a reputation as a strong developer of NFL talent at key positions.

Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Kris Abrams-Draine were arguably college football’s top cornerback duo in 2023, and have each shown flashes as rookies. Isaiah McGuire and Darius Robinson were raw athletes entering Mizzou, and emerged as powerful defensive ends with bright NFL futures. Javon Foster and Larry Borom were early-day-three offensive tackles that earned praise from scouts for their versatility and pro-readiness. The coaching staff and strength and conditioning program are doing something right in Columbia, and the talent pool is just getting started.

Mizzou’s development should come to the national spotlight in the 2025 NFL Draft with two first-round hopefuls in Luther Burden III and Armand Membou. Burden has been one of the most dynamic receivers in college football since arriving on campus three years ago and has a chance to be the first pass-catcher off the board in April. Membou is one of the draft’s big risers. The 20-year-old right tackle has guard-tackle versatility, two-years of SEC starting experience and should test well in the pre-draft process.


The program is on an upward trajectory and showing no signs of slowing down.

Long article. Link to the whole story

https://twsn.net/2025/01/the-missour...sleeping-giant

Please tell me he's 1 year away from being 1 year away it's concerning to spend all that money on a kid who sucks.

I wonder where Burden is going to get drafted at?

Yeah. I wonder too. I've seen mock drafts with him going as high as 8th to the Browns, 12 to the Cowturds or as low as 19 to the Bucs. I would love to see him as a Chief, but that seems pretty unlikely.

He can think the coaching staff and Brady Cook for dropping him out of the top 5 more than likely.

Still don't understand how he only managed 11 passing TDs total with that group of pass catchers.

He should be a dominant NFL DL, but by all accounts, he's a lazy asshole. Constantly late to meetings, and had a bad attitude. If they were willing to cut his NIL deal after making that law in part for him, it's a bad sign.

Maybe he always wanted to go to Nebraska, and his old coach will unlock him. If so, he could be a terror. Or maybe he'll be a malcontent on his way to another team. I have no idea which will happen.

Eh. I really doubt teams are sitting in scouting meetings like, "boy howdy we would gladly take him at 5 if his QB could hit the broad side of a barn. Because of that, we just couldn't until Friday."

I've posted a few news pieces lately that I thought would be of interest. But I've noticed very little response to them. I don't want to spam the thread with unwanted information. Would you guys prefer that I quit sharing those long articles or would you like me to continue doing it? I'm good either way.

More content is fine. Just not a lot to talk about when their season is over while the Chiefs are in the playoffs.