Former Minnesota Golden Gopher Aireontae Ersery is officially an NFL draft pick. On Friday night, the St. Louis, Missouri native was the 48th overall pick of the Houston Texans.

Ersery in Houston will be tasked with keeping franchise quarterback C.J. Stroud upright and will replace one of the league's best let tackles in Laremy Tunsil, who the Texans traded to the Washington Commanders this offseason.

Ersery was an All-American selection this past season according to Sporting News, Associated Press, and the FWAA. He was also the Big Ten Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year this past season.

For the Gophers, Ersery was a mainstay on their offensive line over the past three seasons, starting 38 straight games to end his career with the program, allowing only a handful of sacks including just one in the 2024 season.

Here's what NFL Draft experts had to say about Ersery.

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein on Ersery... Three-year starter at left tackle with good power. Ersery is not a natural bender, which creates disadvantages with leverage and when attempting to mirror moving fronts. He’s well-versed in Minnesota’s outside zone attack, but might be more consistent in power, inside zone and hat-on-hat matchups. He’s huge, but he sets with good quickness to the rush, using his length and hand strength to gather it or lock it out. His anchor is derived from his upper half, which opens him to hand counters. Ersery has the potential to become an average starting tackle on the right side, but his success will be tied to matchups across from him.

Bleacher Report's NFL Draft Department on Ersery... Overall, Ersery is a long, tactful blocker with good play strength, competitive toughness, and enough athletic ability to stick at tackle in the NFL. However, his upright playing style and average recovery skills likely cap his ceiling as a middle-of-the-pack starter.

Pro Football Focus on Ersey...Ersery brings alluring size and length to the tackle position for the NFL. He has good hands, an explosive first step forward and quick footwork to be an impactful zone run blocker, but his naturally high-waisted build impacts his leverage and may inhibit him from keeping NFL rushers in front of him.

============================

- Talk about it INSIDE GOPHER NATION.

- Follow us on Twitter: @MinnesotaRivals, @RivalsDylanCC

- SUBSCRIBE to Gophers Nation