Jets rookies get their first taste of minicamp under new coach Aaron Glenn
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Armand Membou spent much more time studying the Jets’ playbook than he did his new contract, but the right tackle was pleasantly surprised at the amount of his rookie deal.
“It was pretty cool, especially once I looked at all them zeros on the page,” Membou said on Friday after the first day of Jets rookie minicamp. “I didn’t realize how much money I was getting. It was definitely a blessing for sure.”
Membou, the seventh overall pick, signed a four-year deal worth nearly $32 million on Thursday. The offensive tackle said he has “no big plans” for what he’ll do with his money other than “just taking care of my family.”
Membou’s immediate plans, however, are getting to know the Jets’ plays and players. He spent some time talking with left tackle Olu Fashanu, a rookie last season, and picked his brain on what to expect.
“I just asked him about how it was like for him last year,” Membou said. “He was just telling me what it was like for him and the life of a rookie.”
Membou, the first draft pick of the Darren Mougey-Aaron Glenn era, is expected to fill a huge void at right tackle. In Fashanu and Membou, the Jets hope they have their bookend tackles for many years.
Friday marked the start of Glenn’s first rookie camp as a head coach, and he ran it far differently from his predecessor. Under former coach Robert Saleh, the draft picks usually didn’t participate in team drills. All of the Jets’ draft picks took part in 11-on-11 team competition on the first day.
Membou moved well. Tight end and second-round pick Mason Taylor made some plays in the passing game. And the speed of fourth-round pick Arian Smith was obvious as the wide receiver showed the ability to shake defenders and create separation.
Receiver Arian Smith at Jets rookie minicamp on Friday. Credit: Ed Quinn
Smith, a former track star at Georgia, ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Smith, who said he once ran a 4.28 at Georgia, believed he could have gone faster. His goal now is to show that there is more to his game.
“I strive to be an all-around receiver,” he said. “Speed is my strength, but I can be so much better than just speed, and that’s what I want to be — much better than speed.”
Smith is looking forward to playing for Glenn and receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. He appreciates that the coaches talk to you “straight up” and believes they will get the best out of him.
“He’s going to coach you hard, and that’s what I want,” Smith said of Glenn. “I want to be coached hard. I want to be demanded. I want them to pull out nothing but the best. I want them to push me to be the best I can be, not just a one-trick pony. Everything that they want me to do, I want to be able to do it.”
Smith said he and Jefferson built a relationship during an official visit. When the Jets drafted Smith, he said Jefferson told him they know what he can do and how they’re going to use him.
“He’s going to coach me hard, just like Coach Glenn,” Smith said. “He’s going to make sure I’m pushing myself to be the best version of myself that I can be.”
Undrafted free agents
The Jets have officially signed 15 undrafted rookie free agents.
The offensive players are quarterback Brady Cook (Missouri), receivers Quentin Skinner (Kansas), Jamaal Pritchett (South Alabama) and Dymere Miller (Rutgers), running back Donovan Edwards (Michigan), center Gus Hartwig (Purdue) and guard Leander Wiegand, who played in Germany.
On defense, the Jets signed tackles Payton Page (Clemson) and Fatorma Mulbah (West Virginia), linebackers Ja’Markis Weston (Florida), Aaron Smith (South Carolina State) and Jared Bartlett (Cincinnati) and defensive backs Dean Clark (Fresno State) and Jordan Clark (Notre Dame), the latter the son of former NFL defensive back and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.
The Jets also signed ex-Mississippi kicker Caden Davis.
Two-minute drill
Cook and Adrian Martinez, the Jets’ practice squad quarterback, ran the offense on Friday . . . Linebacker Giovanni Williams, the younger brother of Jets defenders Quinnen and Quincy Williams, is among 12 tryout players the Jets have in camp.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
