The Kansas City Chiefs made news Tuesday by trading All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney. The trade comes after a season that saw Thuney fill in for the Chiefs at left tackle in what was a revolving door of a year for the position.
With Thuney gone, the Chiefs are left with questions regarding the entire left side of their offensive line — but this could signify their intention to invest in the position.
Missouri tackle Armand Membou is one of the blue-chip tackle prospects in this season's draft and is a player worth considering for a trade-up. Membou would be a tremendous fit for the Chiefs, and he could be one of the more dominant offensive line prospects in recent memory.
Player profile
An impressive athlete from Lees Summit, Missouri, Membou was a three-year starter for Mizzou and is among the youngest players in this year's draft class. By the time he takes his first NFL snaps, he will only be 21 years old.
During the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Membou put on a show, running the second-fastest 40 times among offensive linemen at 4.91 seconds and recording the furthest broad jump at 9 feet 7 inches. Ranking among the best in the class in every category was even more impressive, considering his size.
At a solid 332 pounds, Membou is built like a guard, but his athletic ability and 33.5-inch arms allow him to play tackle in the NFL. After his Combine performance, he was in rare air, drawing comparisons to two of the best tackles in the NFL.
Membou had a fantastic workout, but the football world regards him as a sure-fire first-round pick and possibly one of the top players in the NFL Draft due to his ability to dominate opponents and use his physicality to win in the trenches.
A look at the tape
Membou’s film at Mizzou speaks for itself. He was a dominant player, and his combination of athletic ability and a nasty demeanor helped him win snaps in both the run and passing games.
Membou has the frame to be a bruising run blocker and the first step out of his stance to be a road grader in inside runs and set the edge for outside runs.
Membou vs Jackson
You can see how strong Membou is from his lower body, core, and grip strength. Jackson tries to work back over the top, but Membou locks on and finishes him to the ground.
Seeing Membou do this to a top-level prospect shows how impressive his game is. pic.twitter.com/zhHd9FHtUR
— Caleb James (@CJScoobs) March 5, 2025
His frame gives him a natural leverage advantage in the run game, and he uses his excellent core and lower body strength to get underneath taller and lankier edge players and move them where he wants to go.
Against Arkansas, he used great leverage to move fellow draft prospect Landon Jackson off the snap — and then, with all his furry, he finished Jackson to the ground nearly 10 yards past the line of scrimmage.
Against any player, this would be impressive, but Jackson is considered a top-50 pick in this year's class. Membou is a load and will be a great fit for any team looking to run the ball at a high rate. The physical domination is impressive, and his fundamentals set it up.
Great footwork of the stance from Membou. He locks on to the edge defender and takes him for a ride. You can see the strength he has to finish the play, knocking his man out of the picture. pic.twitter.com/ueHBjMbqMa
— Caleb James (@CJScoobs) March 6, 2025
Membou does a great job off the snap by opening up his hips and approaching the edge defender from a good angle. When they meet, he lands inside hands, and despite being larger, he uses fantastic bend through his ankles, knees and hips to gain leverage and drive the edge out of the picture.
Blocks like these make Membou one of the more physically intimidating players in this draft class. While his run blocking is next-level, his capabilities in pass protection make him a special prospect.
Textbook from Membou here. Drive and catch into Vertical Pro is outstanding. Meets the wide-edge rushers at the perfect spot in relation to the QB in the pocket, lands inside hands, sinks his hips, and stops the rush. pic.twitter.com/RELgDg0Ole
— Caleb James (@CJScoobs) March 6, 2025
Larger, stockier linemen — especially at tackle — can be bothered by speed rushers and can struggle to keep up with wide pass rushers.
This is not the case for Membou.
With fantastic weight distribution, beautiful footwork and a perfect sense of timing and awareness, he flawlessly executed multiple pass protection sets against the high-level pass rushers of the SEC.
Once he can get his hands on the quicker edge rushers, Membou shuts them down in their tracks with his superior strength.
Heavier tackles can also be susceptible to giving up inside pressure, but Membou also dominates these looks.
With his frame and strength, Membou excels at shutting down rushes when they try to work into the B gap.
Reading the edges hips, he starts to flatten back down to the inside after initially setting vertically. Great work to power down and flatten out the rusher. pic.twitter.com/vk64WAF8Kq
— Caleb James (@CJScoobs) March 6, 2025
Using great lateral quickness, Membou can mirror defenders down the line of scrimmage. Once he has stopped the initial attempt to penetrate the B-gap, he uses his grip strength and leverage to move defenders out of the pocket, giving quarterbacks a nice window to throw into.
In just two years of playing tackle, Membou is as good a prospect as there has ever been. He may not have ever played on the left side during his career at Mizzou, but he has all the tools to excel on the left in a place such as Kansas City.
Fit with the Chiefs
It would be hard to find a team that Membou wasn't a fit for, but if the Chiefs want to draft him, then it will cost them.
Moving into the top 10 won’t be cheap — especially not for the Chiefs — but it could be worth it if they want to ensure that they have their tackle of the future.
To move up that high, the Chiefs would have to part ways with their first-round pick this year, a series of second and thirds for the years to come and possibly even more picks down the line.
There may be questions about Membou’s ability to play on the left side since he didn't in college, but with his athletic profile, age and the right coaching staff, the transition is possible. He would need to take some time to get comfortable with the functions and motions on the left instead of the right, but the move to the left would ultimately unlock his highest potential.
To solidify the left tackle of the future, the Chiefs should leave no stone unturned.