Minnesota Golden Gophers left tackle Aireontae Ersery has enjoyed an extremely productive career while in college and now projects to be one of the top tackle prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. His mix of size, power, and experience will make him an attractive target for tackle-needy teams.
Aireontae Ersery’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’6
- Weight: 330 pounds
- Position: Offensive Tackle
- School: Minnesota
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Ersery’s Scouting Report
Ersery is from Kansas City, Missouri, and attended Ruskin High School, where he was a standout in multiple sports. Outside of football, Ersery participated in track and field, where he excelled in both javelin and shot put. In fact, he didn’t start playing organized football until his junior year, playing both offensive tackle and defensive end.
Even though Ersery was a late bloomer to football, he was still able to develop into a consensus three-star recruit and garner interest from colleges all over the country. He ultimately signed with the University of Minnesota, playing under head coach P.J. Fleck.
Very few players enter the draft with Ersery’s experience. He played in one game during the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020 and then redshirted in 2021. A year later, Ersery assumed the role of starting left tackle and has manned that post for the last three seasons, earning multiple awards and honors for his stellar play along the way.
Strengths
- Prototypical size and length to excel on the outside against NFL-sized athletes
- Excellent power at the point of attack and generates movement in man-on-man situations in both phases of the game
- Firm and violent punch that allows him to shock defenders and stop them in their tracks
- Good football IQ to recognize and pick up stunts, games, and twists
- Plays with a wide base and good balance when engaging a defender
- Quick in his pass sets, which allows him to get proper depth to lengthen the arc around the quarterback
- Entering the draft with plenty of experience (38 career starts)
Weaknesses
- Not a natural bender, which forces him to play over his feet and sacrifices balance in pass protection
- Plays high in his stance, which allows defenders to win the leverage battle at the point of attack
- Inconsistent with his punch placement and timing, allowing defenders to clear his hands and win around him
- Struggles to consistently land on moving targets when working to the second level
Current Draft Projection and Summary
This draft class may lack star power, but it’s ripe full of prospects who have high floors and will develop into reliable NFL starters. One such prospect is Minnesota’s Ersery, who enters the draft as one of the top offensive tackles available.
He’s a highly experienced player who started for three full seasons at left tackle for the Gophers. He played in a zone-running scheme and was a highly productive player throughout his time. But although he played on the left side in college, Ersery’s most natural position in the NFL may be at right tackle.
A physically gifted prospect, Ersery has excellent size, length, and power. He’s an above-average athlete overall who flashes good quickness and agility in both phases of the game.
In the running game, Ersery plays with very good strength at the point of attack. He fires out of his stance, quickly engages, and is able to drive defenders back once he’s attached. His power is noticeable in both single and double teams, and he blows defenders out of the gap.
Playing in a wide-zone scheme in college, Ersery was tasked with working laterally in the run game, creating gaps for the running back to read off. He showcases good lateral agility to work down the line of scrimmage and has above-average foot quickness, working to the second level on pulls and screens.
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Ersery struggles when coming to balance and will miss moving targets at the second level. Additionally, he plays very high in his stance, which allows defenders to win lower leverage on drive blocks, minimizing the power he can create.
In the passing game, Ersery uses his length and footwork to his advantage. His long arms allow him to create a wide path to the quarterback, and it’s extremely challenging for defenders to work around him.
Ersery has a firm and powerful punch that, when deployed tactfully, can completely stymie a defender’s pass rush. He has good lateral foot quickness and can slide and mirror in pass protection. He also handles speed to power well and anchors against bigger rushers who utilize bull rush.
Even with his experience, Ersery makes some critical errors in pass protection. He misses with his punch far too often, leaving him off balance, which allows defenders to work across his face. He struggles when facing high-end speed rushers and is at times overaggressive in his pass set, which opens up room for inside counters.
Overall, Ersery is a high-floor tackle prospect who does everything well but perhaps nothing extraordinary. His size, strength, and above-average athleticism should allow him to be an early NFL contributor. And a position change over to the right side might allow Ersery to reach his ceiling as a solid NFL tackle.
