A torrent of free agency moves and draft decisions made the Houston Texans the talk of the NFL offseason from March to May, building hype among a football-starved crowd and fanbase aching for a championship. Recently, it’s felt like everyone has been aching for the Texans to break through, with Super Bowl predictions cropping up everywhere from Lance Zierlein to Aaron Schatz! It’s like Texans mania had swept the country in June…that is, until the Los Angeles Rams traded for DE Myles Garrett. Leave
it to the Rams to steal the headlines and make some blockbuster trade reminiscent of their neighbors with the hardwood court and gold-and-purple get up.
Besides L.A.’s tubthumping, Houston has assembled possibly their most complete team to date through the 2026 offseason, signing veteran tackles and tight ends to improve the “balance” of the offseason line, as Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley described in his interview with the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander:
“You always want balance, and each game is a little different,” Caley told the Chronicle. “I think we found a way to even that out as the season progressed. So finding a way to do that. And balance doesn’t come necessarily in terms of a 50-50 run-pass ratio, but it’s also the usage of different players.”
That’s why Houston added several tight ends this offseason. The Texans signed veteran Foster Moreau to a two-year deal and drafted rookie Marlin Klein in the second round. Brevin Jordan is also returning from a knee injury that ended his 2025 season before it got started. – Jonathan M. Alexander, “Exclusive: Why Texans OC Nick Caley is confident C.J. Stroud, offense will show improvement in 2026”
This influx of new blockers to control the edge on Houston’s offense has a lot of fans bullish on the Texans entering 2026. New offensive linemen like RT Braden Smith, LG Wyatt Teller, and rookie C/G Keylan Rutledge give plenty of reason for optimism after last year’s red-zone woes. But, on top of those additions, the TE room Houston has assembled in 2026 has some analysts seeing red, including Battle Red Blog’s Nickschwager, who’s bullish on the position group to take a big step forward. Maybe these new faces are all Nick Caley needed to get his ground-game churning, but to me, those new players are only half the story. Don’t get me wrong – adding all of these veterans and rookies will give the Texans’ front some real teeth, but there’s one player in particular that can springboard this group from plucky playoff underdog to true Super Bowl Goliath: second-year LT Aireontae Ersery.
Maybe the name alone doesn’t get you out of your seat like one such as Will Anderson Jr., but Aireontae Ersery’s position as CJ Stroud’s blindside protector holds just as much value as any other spot on the roster. As a rookie starter drafted in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Ersery was given hefty responsibilities in an instant and did enough to hold his own as a young LT. He had cowboy-sized boots to fill when all-star Laremy Tunsil was traded to the Washington Commanders, and even though Ersery was too slow and too handsy to be a pass a Chanel-laiden Tunsil vibe check, he certainly put plenty of teams on notice in year one:
In his rookie season with the Texans in 2025, Aireontae Ersery played in:
- 18 Starts (Including Playoffs) – 17 Games at LT, 1 at RT (Week 1)
- 1,225 Snaps (Including Playoffs) – 1,166 at LT, 59 at RT; 472 Run-Blocking Snaps, 753 Pass-Blocking Snaps
- 7 Sacks Allowed, 11 Hits, 48 Total Pressures, 13 Penalties
- 58.9 PFF Grade (50.9 RBLK, 66.1 PBLK)
It’s not a shining report card, but given the circumstances, Ersery showed he can be a starter in the NFL. All of those pressures given up and penalties are hard to swallow, but the majority of these came in the first eight weeks of his NFL career. Ersery countered this rough onset of the season with an excellent run in November/December that coincided with Houston’s push into the NFL playoffs. I said as much back in February in my Rookie Grades for the 2025 season:
He went from giving up three sacks in his first three games to only giving up five for the rest of the season, locking down top pass rushers like the Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen and the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby. Ersery carries with him long, heavy arms that can keep even the biggest defensive linemen at bay, and when he’s operating in rhythm and picking up speed, Ersery is a dangerous force in the ground game.
Another reason I’ve got my heart set on Ersery is the fact that he may finally have some consistency at the LG position right next to him. The combo of former Texans LG/RT Tytus Howard and G/C Jarrett Patterson did an admirable job filling in for a disappointing, albeit short run from veteran G Laken Tomlinson last year, but they weren’t wiping defenders off the planet like incoming LG Wyatt Teller was with the Cleveland Browns a few years ago. Teller has shown pro-bowl caliber ability at guard, but whether or not he can return to the peak of his powers since suffering nagging leg/ankle injuries remains to be seen. Teller played below his high standards in injury-shortened seasons the last two years, appearing more sluggish and stiffer than before when on the field. But, if he goes on an Ed Ingram-like renaissance in Houston, then Wyatt Teller could form the foundation that Aireontae Ersery stands on to reach the next level. Heck, if Ersery steals a few run-blocking notes from Teller and incorporates them into his play style, he may even start edging his way out of Tunsil’s shadow!
One thing Teller excels at that Ersery could learn from is his speed to getting in position on rushing plays and his drive after initiating a block. Teller’s feet simply never stop moving, either to quickly set up his MRAP of an upper body or to assist in driving defenders backwards. Ersery demonstrates the strength and lower-body agility to handle this task, but, specifically against the Colts last year, his run-blocking often lacked this ferocity. Crucially, however, Aireontae Ersery has shown an ability to maintain his blocks while moving laterally, which could pair very well with Wyatt Teller’s gift as a people-mover on zone-rushing plays or screen passes.
And it is here where Ersery’s growth could be world-changing for Houston’s offense. If he and Teller are able to combine their powers to make rushing to the left side just as attractive as rushing to the right side of the offensive line, the team might just become unstoppable. At the very minimum, Houston would see their red-zone offense improve, which could have been the difference between 12-5 and 15-2 last season. If both players can stay healthy, and if both players can mesh together as starters on the left side of the offensive line, then the Texans may finally solve their conundrum up front. Ersery echoed as much in his comments to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2:
“We’ve got the right guys to do it,” Ersery said. “DeMeco says, ‘We want to run the football.’ We want to be downhill, pound the ball. The identity starts in the run. It takes a lot of pressure off of C.J. You know, we get the run game going. It opens up the passing game. Definitely excited. ..
“I think the sky’s the limit. Last year was last year. We put that to bed already. We are more focused on what this unit can do and what this unit can be. I think our unit can be very, very special, We have young guys flying around, making plays, wanting to hit people in the mouth. It’s been refreshing.” – Aireontae Ersery, speaking to Aaron Wilson, “How Texans left tackle Aireontae Ersery has improved significantly: ‘Confidence, right steps, right direction’”
Seeing an legitimately dangerous ground-game on the same offense as CJ Stroud? Sounds like music to my ears! In fact…it almost sounds too good to be true. It’s very unlikely that Wyatt Teller, Keylan Rutledge, Braden Smith and Aireontae Ersery will all excel as Texans in 2026; A major injury or a rough season from one of these guys is almost guaranteed knowing Nick Caserio’s luck with the o-line. But, I would argue that even a modest improvement to the position group could do wonders for Aireontae Ersery’s confidence going into year two. Just having a more experienced interior lineman next to him could be enough for him to drastically improve in 2026, be that Wyatt Teller or Evan Brown. On top of that, Ersery’s own improvement at keeping balanced and sticking to his defender during his rookie season could mean the sky is the limit in 2026. Suffice to say, I think the entire situation surrounding Aireontae Ersery has improved since his rookie training camp. How much it’s improved is up for debate, but those changes along with his growth since leaving Minnesota have given Ersery a runaway to a breakout campaign in 2026 – one that could have a cascading effect on the offense and lift the entire franchise to incomparable heights.
What do you think, though? Are you all-in on Aireontae Ersery this upcoming season, or are you still on the fence? Has Ersery proven his mettle, or is he still too inexperienced to be trusted as a starter? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!
GO TEXANS!
