The Texans trade up and take a tackle!
Trade!!! In the middle of the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans trade their 58th and 99th overall selections to the Las Vegas Raiders for their 48th overall selection.
#Texans trade up to 48 with the #Raiders.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 26, 2025
And with the 48th overall pick, the Houston Texans select: Tackle Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota.
Houston Selects Minnesota OL Aireontae Ersery 48th Overall
Only 1 Sack Allowed in 2024 (419 Pass Block Snaps) pic.twitter.com/1FlbaQsBgo
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 26, 2025
Aireontae Ersery is a massive, raw prospect that projects to be either a tackle or guard at the NFL level. Ersery’s 2024 statistics at Minnesota are:
- 691 total snaps at LT
- 77.5 PFF (73.6 RBLK, 77.3 PBLK)
- 1 Sack, 1 Hit, 10 Hurries given up
- 3 Penalites
His Combine Results are:
- Height: 6’ 6”
- Weight: 331 lbs.
- Arm: 33 ⅛”
- Hand: 9 1/2”
- 40-Yard Dash: 5.01s
- 10-Yard Split: 1.75s
- Vertical Jump: 29.5”
- Bench Press: 25 Reps
Ersery is a beefy and talented three-year starter at LT for the Minnesota Golden Gophers not unlike Josh Conerly of Oregon. He’s gigantic, has great power and effective at using his sticky hands to lock up incoming defenders. He’s got nice slide, good timing, and rarely misses his first punch. He even had a good game against Abdul Carter!
He’s not a perfect prospect though, and has his fair share of detractors. Ersery isn’t known for his bend and can beaten outside, but as a raw prospect, he could improve on this in the NFL.
Aireontae Ersery pitched a shutout vs Abdul Carter – 0 sacks allowed
Here’s every 1on1 rep vs the best EDGE in the class
Ersery’s far from a finished pass protector but the highs are high. Learning from Trent Brown, a guy his size, is promising
pic.twitter.com/iul2OxjpH4 https://t.co/MalwuUUO8d
— Jordan Pun (@Texans_Thoughts) April 26, 2025
What do you think of this pick? Did Houston find their future starting left tackle, or will Ersery stay behind current LT Cam Robinson for far too long? Let us know down in the comments below!