One point that bothers me a bit, purely from a technical standpoint, is the fact that Membou often tries to block with his arms rather than using his torso and properly positioning his body with better footwork, especially considering his strong athletic abilities and, in particular, his very good mobility.

Quite often, we see Armand with his arms extended like a Defensive Lineman when he's driving, and that's where it bothers me. If you're used to reading me, you know that the ability to create separation is a crucial point for a DL to create an opportunity window that allows them to shed the block and go for the ball. By constantly keeping his arms extended, Membou creates separation by himself, which ultimately works against him. He could be much more dominant by getting his torso closer to the defender he's blocking, and once again, he has the strength and mobility to do so, so why not take advantage of it?

Another weakness this could create against more technically skilled players is the fact that he could have his arms stripped away before even getting a chance to engage with the defender. We know that NFL players will also be physical monsters, but their speed and execution will be on a different level, which could lead to situations like this.

 

Another issue with Membou is a certain forward imbalance, which is further accentuated by the fact that he plays with his arms extended. While this can be seen in pass protection situations, it's especially noticeable in running plays. Armand tries to create a gap by pushing his defender, and to do so, he doesn't hesitate to use his weight to amplify his power. In doing so, he puts himself in a position of imbalance and can be caught off guard if the defender uses his own weight against him. This is extremely unfortunate because Armand has more than enough lower body strength to stay balanced, even if he shifts some weight forward; he just needs to learn how to manage this better.

If I say that the issue is exacerbated by playing with his arms extended, it's precisely because of the separation that Membou creates. With the same tendency to put too much weight forward, he would still be vulnerable to being evaded before the initial contact. However, if he managed to engage the block with his chest pressed against the defender, the defender would no longer be able to exploit this forward imbalance without risking being pancaked in the process, thus being taken out of the play and giving Membou a winning rep.

 

Despite his solid performance in run blocking situations, Armand can sometimes struggle with his climbs to the second level. It's not so much about his movement or ability to secure the block, but rather about being able to read the space and identify the right target to block. This is something that regularly comes up throughout the games and sometimes allows the defense to limit the ball carrier’s progress quite significantly.
Membou will obviously be able to improve on this point by improving his reading of the game and his IQ soccer in video sessions, but for the moment it's a recurring problem and it supports the next points we're going to discuss.

 

It can be perceived as a lack of domination, but also the impression that Membou sometimes appears disengaged on certain reps. These two points are, of course, subjective, as are all opinions regarding players, but they are still noticeable on the tape. 

Already, the sense of being disengaged, if I don't believe Armand is truly in that mindset, I think the previous point needs to be addressed. Either Membou is still struggling to read the game properly, or he doesn't pay much attention to understanding an offense from a more holistic perspective, which immediately impacts his Football IQ. Both scenarios are possible, especially for a 20-year-old player, but in either case, what results is a Membou who gets lost when a play develops too much and gives the impression of not knowing what to do, or worse, could be interpreted by some as a lack of effort.

For the lack of domination, it should be taken with a grain of salt, or rather, it requires a critical but open-minded perspective. Of course, Membou is capable of having reps where he dominates due to his impressive physical abilities, but that’s precisely the problem. Given his physical capabilities, he should be, especially at this level of competition, dominating much more significantly and on far more reps than we’ve seen this season. Unfortunately, his small technical issues hinder his game, which in turn significantly impacts his ability to dominate as he should.

Finally, let's talk about his physique. Initially, I wasn’t planning to bring it up, but I’ve chosen to do a little update given the hype Armand has received after his incredible Combine. Indeed, while Armand isn’t to blame, his performance at the Combine was so impressive that it has led the media and football fans to make some outrageous claims about other tackle prospects, in an effort to highlight Membou, and particularly to criticize certain prospects based on their size. For example, questions about the size of Kelvin Banks or the arm length of Will Campbell or Wyatt Milum.

This situation makes me smile softly because technically, Armand is just as affected by the same issue that people use to downgrade other prospects, as he is also "small" and has "small" arms for the Tackle position. At 6'4" and with 33-inch arms, Armand is just as ill-suited for the position, if not more, as he is the smallest among the names mentioned.

As for my opinion on the matter, I personally consider him to have more potential at the Guard position, and not just because of his size, even though you know I place particular importance on that aspect.