The Chicago Bears are at the mercy of nine other teams in this year’s draft. If they want to land a player they covet, they will need certain players they don’t want or need to go ahead of them. Quarterbacks would be preferable. The more they go early, the better for the Bears. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like they will get such good fortune this year. That means other players must come to their rescue. By the sound of it, the name to watch in this pivotal stretch will be Armand Membou.
Draft experts have high marks for the Missouri right tackle. They believe he is in the conversation for the best offensive lineman in the draft. That gives him decent odds of going early. Where is the question? Many see the New York Jets as a natural landing spot at #7. However, insider Tony Pauline of Sportkeedia has it on good authority that the team to watch for him is the Las Vegas Raiders at #6. If this is true, it could alter the entire landscape for the Bears.
Likewise, just about everyone has mocked running back Ashton Jeanty to the Las Vegas Raiders at pick No. 6. Yet I’m told the team will seriously consider Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou with that choice. With John Spytek being the team’s new general manager and a need to upgrade the offensive line, sources tell me Spytek would lean towards Membou considering the success he had with Tristan Wirfs in Tampa Bay. Many I’ve spoken with feel that Membou will be the first offensive lineman selected in the draft, ahead of Will Campbell of LSU.
Armand Membou going to Las Vegas is exactly what the Bears want.
It immediately takes them out of the picture for Ashton Jeanty. Most believe the Raiders were the likeliest landing spot for the star Boise State running back. If Armand Membou goes there, the odds of Jeanty falling to the Bears increase dramatically. New York won’t take him. They don’t need a running back. Carolina won’t take him. They seem focused on improving their defense. That leaves New Orleans at #9. While it is possible they could take Jeanty, experts believe they’re more likely to grab either a quarterback or a defensive end. Landing a running back of that caliber could be the final piece to take the Bears’ offense over the top. Membou would achieve folk hero status in Chicago if he became the catalyst to make it happen.
