A night after drafting Missouri T Armand Membou with the No. 7 overall selection in Round 1, the Jets followed up with another productive evening as they landed LSU TE Mason Taylor (Round 2, No. 43) and FSU CB Azareye'h Thomas (Round 3, No. 72).
"The night went well," said GM Darren Mougey. "Unfolded kind of the way we expected starting off with Mason Taylor, a tight end we've had our eye on. We think he can come in and help us on offense, young, athletic, really good ball skills, instinctive, has versatility. And then AZ Thomas, another long, athletic, talented press corner, can play physical, young, still development there. Will come in and add good depth at a premium position. Stuck to the board and feel really good about it."
The Jets chose Membou, an offensive lineman with arguably the highest ceiling in this class, over TEs Colston Loveland (Chicago No. 10) and Tyler Warren (No. 14) in the opening round. But they remained patient in the second round and were able to add the most productive tight end in LSU history. Taylor, the son of Hall of Fame pass rusher Jason Taylor, will join a TE room that includes Jeremy Ruckert and Stone Smartt. Taylor (6-5, 246) set career highs last season with 55 receptions and 546 yards receiving.
"Being that guy in those clutch moments to step up on third down when the chains need to be moved, when it's a must-get touchdown," Taylor said of his game. "Being that guy that can be counted on and can be that safety blanket for a quarterback and can be that guy who's reliable in the pass game but also in the run game. Being that complete every-down tight end that I pride myself on is something I really forward to showing Jets fans."
The Jets moved to defense in the third round, taking the 6-1, 196-pound Thomas. He is a long corner who possesses a 78-inch wing span and was timed at 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. In 37 games for the Seminoles, Thomas recorded 17 PDs, 95 tackles and 8 TFL.
"Football is football, and he plays the brand we want to play," said HC Aaron Glenn. "He's a big, physical man and I'm looking forward to him getting up here and being able to take what he did at Florida State and bring it to us because that's how we play."
The 6-4, 332-pound Membou, an explosive athlete who describes himself as a mauler, started 25 games at RT for Missouri in 2023-24.
"I'm a firm believer that you start it inside out," Glenn said Thursday night.
From left to right, the Jets could start Olu Fashanu, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Membou next season. Fashanu, selected No. 11 overall last season, and Membou, the highest selected O-lineman by the Jets since D'Brickashaw Ferguson in 2006, should be bookend tackles for many years ahead.
"We have our left tackle, we have our right tackle, we have our guards," Glenn said. "So, listen, I know this, every skill player on our offense is excited right now, just because of what we have up front, and again, you build it inside out, and I'm a firm believer in that, and that's what we did today."
With Membou, Taylor and Thomas in tow, the Jets will move into Saturday with five picks – Round 4 (No. 110 overall) and pairs in Rounds 5 (No. 145 and No. 162) and 6 (No. 186 and No. 207). Then they'll begin the undrafted free agent process.
"We feel really good about the way it's unfolded and the players we've been able to add, and we look forward to adding more tomorrow," Mougey said.
