Patriots' Super Bowl nightmare further validates Jets' Armand Membou pick

It's not often that the New York Jets get the last laugh over their biggest rival, but the 2025 NFL Draft is starting to feel like one of those rare moments.

While the Patriots chose what seems like the wrong offensive tackle at No. 4 overall, the Jets walked away with their long-term answer in Armand Membou. Will Campbell’s struggles on the biggest stage in Super Bowl LX only made that contrast impossible to ignore.

Campbell put together a nightmare performance in the Patriots' 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night, and it reaffirmed the belief that many shared about the young offensive lineman both before and after the draft.

Campbell isn't an offensive tackle, at least not a very good one, and the Patriots whiffed on their chance to land a budding star in Membou. The Jets certainly aren't going to complain about their rival's blunder, however.

Will Campbell's Super Bowl disaster proves Jets got it right with Armand Membou

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was pressured on a whopping 28 of his 53 drop-backs in Sunday's loss, a staggering 52.8% of the time. 16 of those pressures came in the fourth quarter alone, and Campbell was easily the biggest culprit.

According to Next Gen Stats, Campbell surrendered an astonishing 14 pressures in the Super Bowl, the most by any player in the NFL this season. It was also the highest total allowed by an offensive lineman in a playoff game since 2018. In fact, his 29 total pressures allowed this postseason were the most by any player in the Next Gen Stats era.

Campbell's issues continue to stem from the same red flags that followed him throughout the pre-draft process, namely his subpar arm length and small overall frame. It's why many scouts projected him as more of a guard at the next level.

The Patriots believed he could hold up as a left tackle in the NFL, drafting him fourth overall with the expectation that he would be their long-term blindside protector of the future. That gamble hasn't exactly paid off.

It’s not that Campbell was especially bad as a rookie, but his clear physical limitations showed up far too often. The former LSU star can probably still become a serviceable NFL tackle, but you do not draft an offensive lineman in the top five to be merely “serviceable.”

Meanwhile, Membou, selected three picks later by the Jets, put together one of the more impressive seasons by a rookie offensive lineman in years. Membou allowed just 33 pressures in 17 games this season, establishing himself as a cornerstone of the Jets' offense for years to come.

Unlike Campbell, Membou entered the NFL with high-level physical traits and exceeded even the loftiest of expectations for him coming out of Missouri. He wasn't just the high-ceiling option — he turned out to be the high-floor option as well.

The Jets will move forward with two bookend offensive tackles for the foreseeable future, while the Patriots may be forced to reevaluate Campbell’s position after his struggles. And to think, all of that could have been avoided had the Patriots selected the lineman who was higher on the consensus draft board.

You hate to see it.