Prospect Profile: Aireontae Ersery, OT, Minnesota

Protecting the Passer

Efficient mover with highly effective hands in protecting the Quarterback. Gets out of his stance quickly, whether 2 or 3 point, and whether jump set, 45 or vertical. He maintains the half-man relationship with the edge rusher and has an uncanny ability to intersect the rusher at the right moment. He always stays patient with his hands and it’s very difficult to get him to commit as a pass-rusher, no matter the stance, set, situation or type of rusher – even athletic and savvy, elite pass-rushers struggled to get him off-balance. He is a good processor and picks up stunts and games very early, against the most elite pass rushers, against a good plan, he can be slower to react to an inside move, weakening his power step and giving too much ground inside. He works exceptionally well with independent hands, both his inside and outside hand are well placed and his grip strength is a problem for all types of rusher. He has a good two-handed strike that can end the rep once he gets his hands on and his excellent timing with his hands means he has a mean snatch-and-trap which can look Defensive Linemen look silly. He has excellent upper body strength and can deal with most power moves, including a straight bull-rush. He can have some trouble with speed to power, he’s thick in the pants and so he can stalemate but against those with better play strength this can be a bit late as he doesn’t have great technique to reset. Against those rushers with elite speed, he can keep the pocket clean but he does look clumsy doing it when he has to run the arc – he turns and chases too quickly, leading to a bit more jeopardy for his Quarterback. When he’s kick-sliding, he’s in control, he just comes out of that too quickly, needs to trust his feet and his technique more. He has solid length and he knows how to use it.

Run Blocking

On the move: An excellent Zone blocker, he excels when releasing to the second level, creating angles for himself before fitting and finishing dominant blocks that open huge holes for his back. He has explosive strength and can snap into defenders, rolling his hips on contact and finishing through the whistle. He’s tough and gritty and uses his outstanding upper body strength to jar defenders when he hits them. He man-handles second level defenders, sometimes with just one hand. When he’s out in much more space downfield on screens, he is nimble enough to locate and make the block functional but he won’t obliterate the defender like he can when he’s closer to the line of scrimmage. As a backside cut-off blocker he isn’t as good at creating angles for himself and can struggle to get the inside shoulder.
Run blocking the big dude across from you: He has outstanding upper-body strength but often negates it in close quarters in the run game because of lack of technique when fitting his blocks. His hands are not well placed when making base blocks and down blocks, often coming from his waist and too frequently placed outside the frame of the blocker. This means good run defenders can find it easier to disengage from him. If he is able to latch in these situations, he does have a tendency to stop his feet on contact and therefore can’t make blocks functional. He hasn’t needed great technique against the majority of competition in college in these situations because of his raw power but that meant he was exposed when he faced NFL-type competition in these scenarios.

DRAFTED RAVEN COMP
Closest comp is Jah Reid but he’s more athletic at the second level and I think he’ll have a significantly better career. Could also be a more athletic Kelechi Osemele, with a much better chance to stick at Tackle rather than kick inside.

PRODUCTION
SR: 679 snaps at LT
JR: 837 snaps at LT
SO: 825 snaps at LT
INJURY HISTORY: None

RAVENS FIT
Expl. Athleticism 4
Ftbl Intelligence 4
Vrsatility 4
Grit 5
Scheme 5