{"id":865279,"date":"2026-04-13T04:57:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/865279\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T04:57:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:57:46","slug":"aireontae-ersery-weighs-in-on-texans-massive-o-line-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/865279\/","title":{"rendered":"Aireontae Ersery Weighs In on Texans&#8217; Massive O-Line Overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">Through the 2026 offseason, a main priority of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/texans\/onsi\/news\/houston-texans-veteran-says-sky-is-not-the-limit-aireontae-ersery\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Houston Texans<\/a>&#8216; moves has been in an effort to fortify their offensive line.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">In just the first few days of this year&#8217;s free agency, the Texans managed to re-sign two of their key pieces from last season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/texans\/onsi\/news\/houston-texans-trent-brown-agree-to-new-contract\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ed Ingram and Trent Brown<\/a>, as well as adding multiple new veterans from outside the building, like former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/texans\/onsi\/news\/wyatt-teller-makes-eye-opening-claim-houston-texans-c-j-stroud\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Browns guard Wyatt Teller<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/texans\/onsi\/news\/houston-texans-sign-former-indianapolis-colts-ot-braden-smith\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Indianapolis Colts tackle Braden Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">Those tweaks should pay major dividends for the Texans and their offensive aspirations for next season. And for those already part of Houston&#8217;s offensive line, like second-year tackle Aireontae Ersery, it sets up for what should be an exciting year of what this unit could do altogether.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">&#8220;We&#8217;re mixing with the guys that came in; they&#8217;re a good group of guys,&#8221; Ersery said of the Texans&#8217; offensive line changes, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BigSargeSportz\/status\/2042956054204502313?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">via Big Sarge Media<\/a>. &#8220;They&#8217;re a great group of men. They&#8217;re very talented. I can&#8217;t wait to see what they do this season.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Texans OL Aireontae Ersery expounds on the new additions to the offensive line. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Texans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Texans<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Sarge?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Sarge<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Aireontae_69?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Aireontae_69<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qB6YiFb5sz\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/qB6YiFb5sz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 BIG SARGE MEDIA LLC (@BigSargeSportz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BigSargeSportz\/status\/2042956054204502313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">All of those aforementioned moves upfront should not only help the entire offensive flow smoother throughout the 2026 season, but it&#8217;ll also take pressure off the shoulders of Ersery, who&#8217;s at the center of some high expectations for what his second-year pro could look like.<\/p>\n<p>Texans&#8217; Aireontae Ersery Enters Big Second Season<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"71\">Ersery managed to settle in as the Texans&#8217; left tackle as his rookie season progressed, showing gradual upside in his pass protection.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"74\">However, one area that Ersery struggled mightily in throughout his rookie campaign was causing penalties, as he would log a total of 13 flags across the season, ranking him among the top 10 tackles in penalties drawn. That&#8217;s an area that has to improve during his sophomore campaign.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kp1ha621qt3epycsnr.jpg\" alt=\"Dec 14, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery (79) in action during the game against th\" title=\"Dec 14, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery (79) in action during the game against th\" width=\"3754\" height=\"2111\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7e\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dec 14, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery (79) in action during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\">Ersery&#8217;s massive 6-foot-6, 330-pound frame gives him some undeniable upside for just the type of pro-level blindside protector he can be if he can iron out his technique and overall consistency, but it&#8217;ll rely on some noticeable improvements throughout this offseason and across the 2026 campaign to truly bring that confidence.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7l\">Thankfully, Ersery will have new faces all around him to help bring that overall facefilt to the Texans&#8217; offensive front.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7o\">Between Wyatt Teller filling in next to him as Houston&#8217;s most likely left guard, along with the steady depth that Trent Brown can offer as a veteran swing tackle, 2026 projects to be a breath of fresh air in the trenches.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7r\">And with the draft right on the horizon, that gives the Texans yet another opportunity to bolster their offensive front and it&#8217;s overall depth with four picks in the first two days of the draft.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7u\">For C.J. Stroud, who enters what could be his most important year as a pro yet, those changes come at a welcomed time, and could just be the difference that helps the Texans as a whole lift past their divisional round woes next season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7x\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/texans\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sign up for our free Houston Texans On SI newsletter, and get breaking Texans news delivered to your inbox daily!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through the 2026 offseason, a main priority of the Houston Texans&#8216; moves has been in an effort to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2056],"tags":[7,221,253,2368,6,222],"class_list":{"0":"post-865279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-texans","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-texans","11":"tag-houstontexans","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-texans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116395629625721539","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}