The steady and consistent play of the only five men who have started on the offensive line promises to be an important part of the Jets' foundation as the organization looks ahead to the 2026 NFL season. The challenge to excel came even before the season started when RG Alijah Vera-Tucker sustained a season-ending injury.

It was thought that the experienced AVT would be a linchpin on the right side, playing next to and mentoring rookie RT Armand Membou. But sometimes, things have a funny way of working themselves out. Joe Tippmann moved from center to guard, Josh Myers moved in seamlessly at center while the left side of T Olu Fashanu and G John Simpson has given the Green & White the only O-line group in the NFL to start every game ahead of the team's Week 18 finale.

And through 16 games, Membou, the No. 7 overall selection in last year's NFL Draft, has been nothing short of a revelation as he's quietly gone about his business.

"Obviously a very competitive guy," said Myers, a fifth-year veteran who was signed in free agency last March. "His potential is ... really the sky is the limit. He's got everything that he needs to be great, truly. He's got the strength, the athleticism, the smarts. He's got everything he needs and he's going to be a really good football player and definitely a cornerstone of this organization."

You could say that Membou is already "a really good football player." Before the Jets' season finale at Buffalo in Week 18, Membou has taken every single snap, 1 short of 1,000. In Sunday's game against New England, the normally business-first rookie showed some fire and, according to Pro Football Focus, earned a pass-block grade of 76.1 -- the highest among the Jets' offensive linemen. PFF has given him a pass-block grade of 70-plus in 7 of his last 8 games and 69.0-plus in 12 of 16 games this season.

Teamed with second-year man Fashanu, the team's top draft pick in 2024, the Jets have a pair of bookend tackles potentially for years to come.

"The game is meant to be played a certain way, and I think he does it the right way," TE Jeremy Ruckert said of Membou on Monday. "Every play he goes out there trying to dominate and like you said, playing next to him is fun. I have fun out there and he plays with a certain style that you want to be a part of and you want him on your team, so I think he's come into this league and done some great things this year and as we keep working towards getting better I think he's a piece that we're really going to rely on and is fun to be a part of."

No. 70 has his eyes on this season's finish line, but there's still a game to play and he's not finished. Not by a long shot.

"Finish strong," he said about his goal against the Bills. "I say, just go back to work and just try to have the best weekly practice that we can and finish strong going into Buffalo."

C Josh Myers: 'I'm Going to Stay In'
In his four seasons with Green Bay and his first with the Jets, C Josh Myers has not played fewer than 99% of the snaps on offense -- other than his rookie season with the Packers when a knee injury knocked him out of the starting lineup and limited him to 6 games.

As he looks ahead to the Week 18 season finale, Myers said on Monday that he always falls back on a bit of advice from his dad as he was growing up in Dayton, OH.

"It's been hard, it's been really hard," he said about the season. "Again, it's something my dad always used to say to me, and I always fall back on it, and that's 'you just got to control what you can control and who you are every day.' So that's what I've been doing. Just trying to be the best version of myself when I show up here every day and prepare as hard as I can, so that's what we do."

Myers, 27, committed himself to the current project when he recently signed a two-year contract extension with the Jets.

"I think for me personally at least it goes back to AG [HC Aaron Glenn] just kind of talking about how we need to buy in and stay in, so I'm going to stay in," he said. "I'm going to prepare as hard as I can like it's a playoff game and do everything I can and have faith that everyone else will as well."

Rookie S Malachi Moore Has Room to Grow
Malachi Moore, one of the Jets' two fourth-round selections in last year's NFL Draft, didn't begin the season as a starter. But he'll certainly finish it that way, and into next season if all goes to plan.

"Malachi, he's definitely put together a great couple games back to back," veteran CB Brandon Stephens said after Sunday's game. "Obviously, this is [his] rookie year, so he's going to have a lot of growth, I'm sure. And you know, he's critical himself, but he's definitely made some key plays for us the past few weeks, especially last week [against New Orleans], just forcing another turnover."

Moore, who had a stellar career in college for Alabama, is one of the Jets' young players who stepped up and made the most of his opportunity when Andre Cisco and then Tony Adams sustained injuries. Against the Patriots he had 7 tackles and a pass defensed -- the fifth-straight game with 7-plus tackles. Appearing in all 16 games, Moore is second to LB Jamien Sherwood on the team in tackles with 91 (53 solo) and is among all rookie defenders with the most tackles through Week 17. He's also forced a fumble and recovered one, in addition to logging 3 TFL and 3 PDs.

Finally, Moore managed to make his first NFL pass reception on Sunday when he caught a toss from punter Austin McNamara for a first down off a fake punt.