2 young Jets studs already making each other better in OTAs

The dog days of camp. That's what they call them. More accurately, the New York Jets are battling the dog days of OTAs before they transition into minicamp in a couple of weeks.

But this is the time, despite the general public's blindness to it, that good players become great players and great players become superstars. This is the time when rookies and developmental players hone their craft and edge out a space for themselves in the league.

The Jets aren't winning a Super Bowl this season. I can say that with the utmost confidence. And they probably aren't winning one next year either. This is an era of Jets football, like most, where growth is the name of the game. If they're going to get anywhere with this core, success starts here.

That said, it's tough to glean tons of insight from what actually happens at camp. But early indications from boots on the ground suggest that two of the most crucial pieces of what we hope will someday be a championship group are battling it out. And that is the best thing the Jets' brass can ask for right now.

The Jets need this all summer long

Armand Membou, the Jets' right tackle and seventh overall pick out of Missouri in the 2025 NFL draft, had a good rookie campaign last season. He followed Olu Fashanu's lead, the Jets left tackle and 2024 first-round pick, who also had a productive rookie season despite failure all around him. Clearly, the Jets are looking to build inside out by beefing up their trenches.

On the other side of the football, the Jets are also looking to start with upfront force, drafting edge David Bailey out of Texas Tech with the second overall pick this season. Bailey was a consensus All-American who led the Big 12 in tackles for loss with 19.5 and the entire country in sacks with 14.5.

He profiles as a high-level pass rusher at the next level. And according to Robby Sabo of Jets X-Factor, Bailey is beginning his journey with some early tussles with his first-round predecessor, Armand Membou.

Bailey finished his senior season with a Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 93.8 and an overall defensive grade of 93.3. And despite some mistakes, he's shown some (very early) flashes of quick, efficient pressure toward Geno Smith, with the ability to go inside as well as outside.

But while managing a 6-foot-4, 251-pound skilled freight train, Armand Membou is more than holding his own, forcing Bailey inside on outside run concepts and stone-walling him on a long-arm attempt. It's good to hear Bailey is showing positive indicators. And it's even better to hear that Membou is handling it as a second-year pro should.

What's even better than both of those things is the sheer fact that the Jets have two hopeful future stars going one-on-one not only at OTAs, but at minicamp, training camp, practice, and so on.

Membou and Bailey represent so much of the early draft capital spend by Mougey and Glenn, and their positions are as crucial as almost any in the sport, so they need to be pillars of the core moving forward if this group is to succeed together. It's a blessing to have them making each other better every single day.

Although Bailey is sure to get his reps on the left side against Fashanu, too, that serves the same purpose, as the third-year left tackle can also stand to improve while giving Bailey a look he's going to need to prepare for year one.

Of course, Armand Membou is far from a finished product. He was a penalty magnet last season, and while extremely strong at times, he showed some inconsistency as a pass blocker. But overall, it was a good rookie year, finishing strong by allowing only one pressure in the last three games combined.

He has a ways to go, but he isn't far off from being one of the better right tackles in the game in a couple of years if he continues on this current trajectory.

There's no better way for him to get there than tweaking his skills day in and day out against a pass-rusher of Bailey's potential caliber. And there's nothing better for David Bailey either.

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