Can the Gopher Lineman keep the Minnesota streak of a Top-2 NFL draftee alive another year?
The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night from Green Bay and several former Minnesota Golden Gophers will hopefully hear their name called in the three day event. One player guaranteed to hear his name called is former Gopher left tackle Aireontae Ersery. The 2024 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year is a big bruising beast who has fluxuated on draft boards since the end of the regular season. He competed at the Senior Bowl, and earned some good reviews, and had some questions identified too. But, he likely will end up drafted in the top two rounds this weekend and extend the Minnesota Golden Gophers streak of having a player selected in the top two rounds of the NFL Draft for the 6th consecutive year.
Measurables:
Height: 6’6
Weight: 331 lbs
Arm: 33 1/8”
Hand: 9.5”
40 Time: 5.01 seconds
10 Yard split: 1.75 Seconds
Vertical 29.5”
Broad Jump: 9’ 3”
3 Cone: 7.81 seconds
20 yd shuttle 4.82 seconds
Bench Press 25 reps
Ersery is a physical freak. He had one of the best RAS scores of any Offensive lineman prospect with a 9.42. For those unfamiliar with RAS, this evaluation formula — created by Kent Lee Platte — collects a multitude of a player’s testing metrics and physical attributes to generate a score to measure a prospect’s athleticism entering the NFL. The final number is determined by what percentile a player falls relative to their peers at a particular position.
The highest score a prospect can achieve in this tool is a 10. Prospects are graded on a scale of 1-10 for each contributing factor, which is a great reference point to help determine exactly how a player’s athleticism stacks up against incoming prospects at the same position to help aid the evaluation process.
https://ras.football/ras-information/?PlayerID=27169&ovl=Minnesota
The agility is the part that has some NFL scouts concerned that left tackle may not be his final position. There is some talk that Ersery might be better sliding inside to guard—something fellow former Gopher Daniel Faalele has done, and after three season in the NFL has found himself in a starting spot on the Baltimore Ravens. Ersery does not have the bend and flexibility that many NFL scouts want from a starting left tackle, but is a beast that can use his strength to overpower even the shiftiest of defensive linemen. Just look back to see what Ersery did in controlling Penn State’s Abdul Carter who is likely a top 5 pick Thursday night in their matchup last November.
The major question will be will NFL teams shy away from Ersery because of his upright style and worry that he will get beaten by faster players? It’s a legitimate concern, but something a good OL coach could work on him with as well. He’s probably better suited for a team with a zone blocking scheme, but there is no reason that Ersery can not come into the league and make an immediate impact like previous Gopher offensive linemen Faalele and John-Michael Schmitz.
What Do the Mocks Say?
In general, Ersery looks pretty safe to add another year ont that Minnesota 5 year streak of having a player selected in the top two rounds. He likely will slip to the second round where a majority of the mock drafts place him, but there are still a few outliers that have him as a late first round pick—or a few that have him slipping all the way down to the third round. Here is a roundup of what we have seen this week:
Chad Reuter NFL.com : R1 Pick 27 Kansas City Chiefs
Pro Football Network: R2 Pick 39 to Chicago Bears
Dane Brugler The Athletic: R2 Pick 41 Chicago Bears
Charlie Campbell Walter Football R2 Pick 42 New York Jets
Jordan Reid ESPN.com : R2 Pick 47 Arizona Cardinals
AtoZ Sports: R2 Pick 48 Miami Dolphins
PFF R2 Pick 63 Kansas City Chiefs
Walt Walter Football R3 Pick 69 New England Patriots
Final Prediction:
It’s likely that Ersery goes in the mid-second round. One of those teams in the 40’s would seem to be the pick. Minnesota fans would like him to not end up on the Bears most likely, One team not mentioned above is the Indianapolis Colts with pick 45. Cincinnati at #49 would be another potential option. But our final prediction…
With the 43rd selection in the NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Aireontae Ersery from the University of Minnesota.