Niners Nation
Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery started 38 games and has plenty of upside and experience. He met with the 49ers ahead of the NFL Draft
Fox Sports NFL Insider Jordan Schultz tweeted the San Francisco 49ers were among ten teams to hold a pre-draft visit with Minnesota Gophers offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery, who started 38 straight games to finish his collegiate career.
Ersery is 6’6 1/4 and 331 pounds. He’s a massive specimen with an 87th percentile broad jump and 90th percentile 40 yard dash. Simply put, players this big who run as fast as Ersery rarely fail at the NFL level.
Schutlz tweeted that Ersery could sneak into the first round, which might be a bit rich. Then again, we had him ranked 40th overall. When you play a premium position, you get bumped up.
Ersery’s athleticism stands out from the second the ball is snapped. He has a promising first step and understand how to be effective in a zone blocking scheme. Grip strength is critical in the NFL. It’s why I don’t believe the Niners will select Kelvin Banks. It would be the reason you take Ersery. When he gets his hands on you, it’s over.
There is no gray area with Ersery, either. He went up against Abdul Carter of Penn State this past season, so you know how he’ll fare against top talent. At the Senior Bowl, Ersery looked unchallenged against Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, who had 16.5 sacks last season.
Ersery is a fifth-year senior, continuing the theme from the 2024 NFL Draft, in which the Niners found plenty of success. Ersery allowed four sacks...in the past three seasons. He only allowed one quarterback hit this past season. There are times when pass rushers cross Ersery’s face. That’s how carter tried to beat him. But you can see the upside as a pass blocker. Against the run, the dominant traits are there for Ersery to excel.
He’d be a terrific second round pick for the 49ers. The question becomes do you play Ersery, who only played left tackle in college, on the right side until Trent Williams hangs ‘em up?
