2025 NFL Draft Profile: Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota

Aireontae Ersery NFL Draft Overview

Position: Offensive tackle
College: Minnesota
Class: Senior
Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Height: 6’ 6”
Weight: 331 pounds
Arm Length: 33 1/8 inches
Hand Size: 91/2 inches
40-yard dash: 5.01 seconds
10-yard split: seconds
Vertical Jump: 29  1/2 inches
Broad Jump: 9’ 3”
Three-Cone Drill: 7.81 seconds
20-yard shuffle: 4.82 seconds
Bench Press: 25 reps

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2025 NFL Draft: Aireontae Ersery Scouting Report

Aireontae Ersery is a raw prospect who was previously a track and field athlete who threw discus and shot put but did not play organized football until his junior year at Ruskin High School in Kansas City, MO and Minnesota took a chance on the former three-star recruit that has paid off over time. He is a powerful offensive tackle who is quick enough to extend to the rush, locking into rushers. Ersery is well-versed playing in a zone-blocking system but may be better off playing in a power-running scheme that features man-to-man matchups.

After having played sparingly in his first two seasons in Minnesota, Ersery started his last three seasons, starting 38 games at left tackle and he was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2022. He followed that performance by being named Second-team All-Big Ten Conference in 2023 and in his final season he was selected as an Associated Press Third-team All-American, First-team All-Big Ten and received Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2024.

Ersery was rated No. 52 in Lead NFL Draft Analyst Eric Edholm in his Top 100 NFL prospect rankings.

Strengths

• He has the mass needed for a starting NFL tackle.
• Good lateral quickness to slide and gain depth on diagonal sets.
• Good first lunch that jolts and slows down the rusher.
• Strong hands that grip defenders at pad level. 
• Patience in blocks allows him to center in on his target.
• Consistent with base width and good body control.

Weaknesses

• Needs to work on knee bend and upright posture
• His initial punch in pass blocking tends to drift too high, negatively affecting leverage on defenders
• Hip tightness prevents recovering when he is beaten in one-on-one situations
• He is not as physical a blocker on pulls and kickback blocks at the second level.

NFL Player Comparison: Marcus Cannon

Teams with a Need at the Position: Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks.

Draft Projection: Second-third round

Bottom Line on Aireontae Ersery

Aireontae Ersery is a talented, but raw 2025 NFL Draft prospect that has upside playing left tackle. Some NFL scouts see him as a right tackle, but he has shown to be productive at the left tackle position, evidenced by his accolades playing at the spot he is at the left tackle, but he would be able to succeed at the former. He will need to improve his hand technique and counter-swim and rip moves at the next level. Ersery can play in a play-action-based offense that features power running, or a zone-blocking heavy scheme and become a solid starter sooner rather than later.