When Armand Membou went to the NFL Draft Combine, he expected to perform well.
“I was shooting for a little better,” Membou said. “But I think I did what I needed to do. … I wanted to run a 4.8 (second 40-yard dash) and then, if I could have got an inch more in the vertical. But it was still a good day.”
But he didn’t expect to have the viral moment of the week.
“Everyone has been, like, clowning me for it,” Membou said. “I didn’t mean to scream, it kind of just happened.”
But along with his virality for his very loud 40-yard dash, Membou was the name to know at the combine as he posted great result after great result.
The 6-foot-4, 332-pound offensive tackle not only solidified his prospects at the end of the offensive line by measuring in with a 33.5-inch arm and a 9.75-inch hand, he ran a 4.91 40 for the second-fastest time among all offensive linemen and fastest among tackles. He also posted a 34-inch vertical leap, good for fourth among all linemen, a 9-foot, 7-inch broad jump for the best mark among all linemen and he bench pressed 225 pounds 31 times, good for second among all linemen and fourth overall in the combine.
And all those results, mixed with draft evaluators watching more and more of his film from last year has rocketed Membou up draft boards, often even into the top-10 and sometimes listing him as the first offensive lineman off the board.
“I try not to look at it, but like, obviously I see it on social media and everything,” Membou said. “... They’re not the ones who actually pick, so I’ll take the team’s actual feedback.”
Since the combine, Membou has returned to Columbia to work out with the Missouri Tigers as he continues to prepare for his name to be called early on draft night.
There were questions early in the draft process about whether Membou would be able to play tackle or would have to move inside to guard because of his size, but the versatility seems to have helped his stock instead of hurt.
“I’ve heard from a lot of people, the more you can do in the league, the longer you stay in the league,” Membou said. “So it’ll definitely help.”
He said the past few months have been smooth as he’s continued meeting with teams, which he would not name specifically. He said the meetings will continue through the next month as he prepares for the NFL Draft which will run from April 24-through-26, though Membou won’t have to wait much more than an hour after the beginning of the first round to get his name called.
And with the way he’s risen up draft boards, there’s no longer a question of whether Membou made the right choice to leave college a year early.
“I had a good season, so I thought I was ready,” Membou said. “And I thought it was time for me to go to the next level.”
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