Houston Texans Draft Prospects: Armand Mambo

The dream prospect has emerged.

It’s February. The 2024 football season has been quietly nestled away in the recesses of our collective mind. The players are resting their weary bodies. A winter’s breeze twists through the streets, careening through cars and bundled humans alike as fireplaces crackle in tender homes across the country. A season of chilled wonder indeed… for some.

While the football world enters into a blissful slumber, scouts and analysts are hard at work crunching film on the 2025 NFL Draft prospects. THAT’S RIGHT BABY. ‘Tis the season for measuring hand sizes on quarterbacks, analyzing foot speed on 320-pound lineman, watching 20-year olds sprint 40 yards in their underwear, and pouring through film to find diamonds so deep in the rough that your fingers start to blister (oh, we’ll get to William and Mary’s left tackle Charles Grant… you draft-oholics).

For our first prospect in this series, we’re starting in the limelight. Instead of a diamond in the rough, we went to Jared and found the brightest gem we could.

Armand Membou is a right tackle out of Missouri who has the size, intangibles, tenacity, and technique to be a stellar offensive lineman at the next level. Membou is 6’3, 325-pounds and has two-plus years of starting experience in the SEC. He exclusively played right tackle in college, but scouts believe he has the versatility to slide inside and be an elite right guard. He’s a true Junior – turning only 21 next month – giving him an incredible ceiling based on his current talent.

Membou wins with stellar footwork – particularly his leg drive. The finishing ability is something Houston hasn’t seen since Derek Newton. The Missouri offensive run scheme required their lineman to get out of their stance and MOVE. You will see in his tape two techniques; either he squares up the defender and tries to push them to the boundary or he wheels around them to use their up-field momentum to set the edge. The latter is a quite unique, scheme-specific tactic that many scouts ding him on but isn’t prevalent at the next level.

In pass protection, there isn’t a more well-grounded tackle in the class. He keeps his weight beneath his feet and allows defenders to show their hand before he initiates contact. Membou’s better at getting width than depth, which leads to faster edge rushers getting through to his chest. His technical footwork needs improvement as it’s too patient off the snap. All said, PFF didn’t tally a single sack against Membou in 2024.

In the film against future first-rounder Shemar Stewart, Stewart’s best reps come when he gets momentum on Membou and can walk him back with speed and power. Membou will be less susceptible to this on the inside when tackles have their hands in the ground and less leverage.

Within the scouting world, Membou is the definition of a meteor. Look at his PFF Average Draft Position:

At this moment in the draft process, Membou is going 5-10 picks before the Texans at 25. This is however before the NFL Combine takes place. For all intents and purposes, Membou should have a fantastic performance, but if he measures in a tad below 6’3 or a shorter wingspan, he will fall down draft boards due to length limitations. That would put him squarely in the Texans’ draft crosshairs.

Our frienemies over at Blogging The Boys analyzed Membou earlier this week:

THE GOOD

Shows exceptional explosiveness off the snap and impressive agility for his size. Watch for his 10-yard split at the combine, it will impress.

He has excellent strength and the ability to generate power, making him effective in both pass- and run-blocking in zone-blocking scenarios.

Displays good depth in his pass sets.

Effectively mirrors edge rushers with good foot speed and arm length.

His hand strikes are powerful, often jolting defenders and helping him maintain control in pass protection.

Shows a nasty demeanor as a finisher.

Shows good range to allow him to reach the second level and seal lanes effectively.

With the addition of Membou at guard, Houston could feasibly keep Blake Fisher at right tackle, move Tytus Howard to left guard, and be set for the 2025 season. This combination would give the Texans a fantastic blend of pass protection and run-grading lineman. Membou has several key areas to work on, including potentially making the transition to guard for the first time ever, but if he’s able to fit into an unknown Texans offensive scheme he could be the key to unlock the Texans’ offense moving forward.