This is the first in a two-part series on the Jets' first-round tackles of the past two drafts, Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, both of whom spoke with reporters following Saturday's fourth practice of training camp.

It was a productive offseason for Olu Fashanu, and now he, his Jets teammates, coaches and fans hope it continues to morph into a productive preseason and regular season for the big man at left tackle.

"It was more so just about gaining a lot more muscle mass," Fashanu said following Saturday's fourth practice of training camp. "I want to be able to play at a slightly heavier weight than I was last year. I felt like last year I was still on the lighter side of being a tackle. Now I feel a lot better, a lot stronger, a lot more powerful. That was my aim during the offseason."

Fashanu didn't forsake the mind for the body, however, in his growth into a force on the Jets' O-line.

"Definitely, mentally coming into this season I'm a lot more confident than I was last year," he said. "And I think that's something that everyone works with, the concept of self-doubt, and I did a lot of work on my mental this offseason. Coming into this camp, I feel a lot better, a lot more confident, knowing my abilities and that I can go out there and dominate every play."

Then coming into this camp, Fashanu tips his hat to the other side of the ball, and in particular to Will McDonald IV, who led the defense last season with 10.5 sacks.

"Oh, man, it's going to show during the season," he said of his work against the player who "slimmed down" from uniform No. 99 a year ago to No. 9 this season. "Will is one of those guys that honestly just moves differently than most players on the field. The way he has no wasted movement or steps, it's truly different. Me and Armand are going to get a lot better by going against him every day."

And in mentioning his fellow young Jets tackle in Armand Membou, Fashanu unveils one more plus for his game and even more so for the offense as it prepares to become as explosive as possible.

"It just shows the trust that this building has in both me and Armand," he said of the Jets' potential for fielding a pair of dynamic tackles, with Fashanu, last year's 11th overall selection, at LT and Membou, the No. 7 overall pick in April, at RT. "I can talk about Armand all day. He's an extremely hard worker, he has a really exciting future. So I'm really excited for him."

Jets fans could be excited at the page-turning prospect of having bookend tackles taken in the first rounds in back-to-back drafts for only the second time in franchise history. The first, of course, were the fourth overall selections of RT Marvin Powell in 1977 and Chris Ward in '78. And wouldn't it be something if Fashanu and Membou can come together from the outset of this first season under head coach Aaron Glenn to build a bookend streak like some of the longest in franchise history.

Here are the Jets' top five tackle combinations in terms of games started together, including playoffs, since 1964:

But such a listing is premature, especially since while Olu has moved in at LT after getting five starts there as a rookie last season, Armand still has to secure the starting job on the right side of the line, something that Membou addressed after Saturday's practice.

Sunday: Armand Membou on how he's faring in his first Jets and NFL training camp.