Aireontae Ersery

Texans Offensive Line Positions Starting To Settle

July 5th, 2025 at 4:50pm CST by Ely Allen

A week ago, we dove into some speculation about the potential starters that could emerge from several position battles along the offensive line in Houston. According to DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN, roles are “starting to sort themselves out for a completely revamped unit.”

To review, the departures of Laremy Tunsil, Shaq Mason, and Kenyon Green left the Texans with three vacant starting positions: left tackle, left guard, and right guard. Of the two positions with returning starters, the presumed right tackle starter could be moved elsewhere on the line, while the center position will likely have to be won through competition regardless of returners.

Nothing has changed on the situation at left guard. Veteran free agent addition Laken Tomlinson comes to Houston with 10 years of starting experience, all at left guard. He took the most reps at the position throughout the spring, and it appears to be his job barring injury. Similarly, there’s still a strong feeling that Tytus Howard will be a starter on the offensive line, though the team doesn’t know where. Over his six years in Houston, Howard has started 48 games at right tackle, 27 games at left guard, and four games at left tackle. Most of his time in the spring, though, was split between right tackle and right guard, so with Tomlinson at left guard, he’s likely pinned at the two spots on the right side of the line.

At left tackle, the Texans have been shuffling veteran free agent addition Cam Robinson and rookie second-round pick Aireontae Ersery on the first team. Robinson is likely the expected starter on the blindside, while Ersery appears to cross training at both tackle spots. This means Ersery is also rotating first-team snaps at right tackle. His competition on that side is last year’s second-rounder Blake Fisher, but Zachary Thomas is a new name Bien-Aime throws into the mix here.

Thomas joined the Texans last years after spending half the season in New England and two years before that with the Rams. He doesn’t have any starting experience in the NFL, so it’s interesting to see him getting rotated in with the two youngsters for first-team snaps. Whether they’re just checking every possibility or they lack confidence in their first- and second-year options remains to be seen, but it appears that Thomas has put himself in the conversation. If none of the three work out, Howard can always man the spot, and the new important position battle will be at right guard.

To look for who may start at right guard if Howard isn’t there, one must look to the position battle at center. Jarrett Patterson split time at the position with Michael Deiter in 2023 and then did the same with Juice Scruggs last year. Patterson and Scruggs return for another competition, but they’re now joined by Jake Andrews, a center that Houston claimed off waivers from the Patriots. Any of the three could win the job, and one may assume the best loser will have a good shot at filling the right guard spot, should Howard move back to tackle.

Elsewhere on the offense, Bien-Aime comments on the preferred wide receivers in Houston at the moment. With Nico Collins firmly atop the pecking order and with Tank Dell‘s prospects for playing in 2025 still uncertain, rookie second-round pick Jayden Higgins and veteran trade acquisition Christian Kirk have emerged as likely key contributors.

Higgens, a big-bodied pass catcher out of Iowa State, has reportedly been making plays on some of the Texans’ defensive starters as he develops a new chemistry with quarterback C.J. Stroud. After a down, injury-ruined year, Kirk is hoping his move to Houston will be fruitful. Kirk had already earned the nickname “slot demon” by the end of minicamp by the defense, and he seems to be establishing himself as a reliable safety blanket for Stroud, who was sacked last year more than every other quarterback in the NFL (except Caleb Williams).

With a new group of weapons on the offense establishing themselves and a re-tooled offensive line starting to figure out where everyone fits, the Texans are making quick and necessary progress on their new-look offense full of questions marks. They’ll hope to put together a group that can win its third straight division title and earn its third straight playoff appearance.

Multiple Starting Jobs Up For Grabs On Texans OL

June 27th, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Ely Allen

With Laremy Tunsil, Shaq Mason, and Kenyon Green all missing from the roster in 2025, the Texans had an interesting challenge in filling out their offensive line this offseason. There are lots of new faces, only one returning full-time starter, and according to Mike Jones of The Athletic, almost every starting job appears to be up for grabs.

The lone returning full-time starter is Tytus Howard. While he’s likely certain to be destined for a starting job, Houston has been working Howard at both right guard and right tackle in the offseason. This isn’t new to Howard, though. Since getting drafted in the first round in 2019, Howard has started 48 games at right tackle, 27 games at left guard, and four games at left tackle for the Texans.

Right guard would be a new position, but Howard has swapped sides and positions for the team frequently in the past. He likely won’t be going back to left guard, though, since free agent addition Laken Tomlinson seemingly has that job locked down.

When Howard’s working at right guard, rookie second-round tackle Aireontae Ersery and last year’s second-round tackle, Blake Fisher, have been splitting snaps at the position. Ersery has also been splitting snaps with veteran free agent addition Cam Robinson on the blind side.

Robinson has spent his entire NFL career as a left tackle, and it’s hard to imagine the team is paying him $12MM this year to sit on the bench. More likely, Robinson is expected to start at left tackle while Ersery is competing for the right tackle job and cross training at left tackle to either prepare for a role as a swing tackle or prepare to start there in case Robinson gets injured. Last year was only the second time in Robinson’s eight-year career that he played in every game of a single season.

The majority of Ersery’s experience at Minnesota was at left tackle; he started one game at right tackle in his COVID-shortened freshman year. Fisher was almost the opposite. His first ever start for the Fighting Irish came a left tackle before starting at right tackle for the rest of his collegiate career. This could give Fisher the edge over Ersery in that position battle, but so far, there doesn’t appear to be a clear leader.

Much like the last two seasons in Houston, the center position seems extremely undecided. In 2023, Michael Deiter and Jarrett Patterson split time at the position, while in 2024, it was Patterson and Juice Scruggs splitting time. Patterson and Scruggs are back to compete for the job in 2025, but the Texans claimed former Patriots center Jake Andrews off of waivers back in April, and he has tossed his hat into the ring, as well.

The good news is that whoever wins the starting job, the Texans should have plenty of depth. The loser of the tackle competitions will be a capable backup, the losers of the center battle will be available to fill in as backups on the interior, and if Howard shifts in across from Tomlinson at guard, trade acquisition Ed Ingram will be a backup with 41 starts under his belt. The bad news is that, if nobody is convincingly winning a starting job, the winner might not pan out as a starter.

In summation, Robinson and Tomlinson likely have the left side locked down. Ersery or Fisher could win the right tackle spot, pushing Howard inside to right guard, but if neither player proves capable of starting, Howard could bookend the line with Robinson with Ersery and Fisher as backups. If Howard isn’t starting at guard, Ingram and the losers of the center battle can compete at right guard, and of course, the winner of the center battle — whomever that may be — with be the center.

Another year, another new-look offensive line in Houston. After allowing the third-most sacks in the NFL last season, it makes sense that they’d want it to look significantly different, but now they have the rest of the summer to determine just what the line will look like in 2025.

Texans To Keep Aireontae Ersery At OT

May 24th, 2025 at 10:38am CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Texans are planning to keep second-round pick Aireontae Ersery at offensive tackle to begin his NFL career, though he may not earn a starting job right away.

“Really liked his tape in college at tackle,” said Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans of his rookie offensive lineman (via KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson). “He played left tackle, so we’ll start him out at tackle and see how he does there. My vision for him was always he can help us at tackle.”

The Texans believe that Ersery could be their next franchise left tackle after trading Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders this offseason. Cam Robinson is earning $12MM and will likely start this year, but his one-year deal indicates that the team doesn’t see him as a long-term option. Same goes for Trent Brown, who only has $550k of guaranteed money and will likely have to earn a roster spot as a swing tackle, not a starter.

Enter Ersery, who started 38 straight games at left tackle to end his career at Minnesota. His height and weight meet NFL standards for offensive tackles, but his 33.5-inch arms are shorter than the rest of his 6-foot-6, 331-pound frame suggest. Ersery’s performance at the Combine, including a 5.01-second 40-yard dash, showed that he has the athleticism to keep playing tackle in Houston.

“With Tae, we add a guy who brings that physicality, that mindset, that I really think helps offensive linemen be good at their job,” continued Ryans. “He’s done a great job at playing left tackle and still has room to grow and develop. I’m excited about adding him.”

Ideally, Ersery would spend his rookie season improving his technique and adjusting to NFL competition before taking over on the blind side in 2026. He could then pair with 2024 second-rounder Blake Fisher – who took over for Tytus Howard at right tackle last season after Houston’s Week 14 bye – in 2026 and beyond. Finding bookend tackles in the second round in consecutive years would be an excellent way to revamp C.J. Stroud‘s protection unit at an affordable price tag as he nears extension eligibility.

Could Ersery play guard? His offensive line coach at Minnesota, Brian Callahan (no relation to the Titans’ head coach) thinks so.

“I’m sure he could,” said Callahan (via Wilson) . “I think he’s a tackle, but I do think that he has the ability to play elsewhere. I feel like he could definitely play guard, for sure.”

Houston shored up their guard depth by trading for Ed Ingram and signing Laken Tomlinson this offseason. Howard started the final five games of the season at left guard, too, so Ersery would only flip inside in an emergency. He might be too tall to develop at guard in the long-term, though the Ravens converted Daniel Faalele, another behemoth former Minnesota OT, to right guard last summer.

The Texans will hope that their current guard depth is enough to get through the whole season without deploying Ersery on the interior, allowing him to focus on developing at left tackle with an eye on the future.

2025 NFL Draft Visits: Williams, Simmons, Texans

April 10th, 2025 at 10:12pm CST by Ely Allen

The 2025 NFL Draft class is fairly deep at the defensive tackle position. One player contributing to that depth is Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams. Williams has gotten a ton of attention lately. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Williams visited the Texans today after recent visits with the Eagles, Bills, and Packers.

Part of this year’s championship-winning Buckeyes crew, Williams has been a full-time starter in Columbus for the last two seasons. He broke out with his performances in those two years, totaling 18 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over that time.

Because Williams is not expected to be a top 10 pick, his interest is coming from all over the NFL, both from teams who could select him in the late-first or early-second round. Per Wilson, he has upcoming visits with the 49ers, Ravens, and Lions on his schedule.

Here are a few other reported visits from around the NFL:

A teammate of Williams’ on the other side of the ball, offensive tackle Josh Simmons is also a fringe first-round prospect. After starting all 13 games for the Aztecs of San Diego State as a true freshman, Simmons transferred to Ohio State where he immediately became a full-time starter at right tackle. In 2023, he switched over to the blindside, where he started every game until missing half his senior season with a torn patellar tendon. The injury hasn’t stopped teams from being interested, though. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Simmons visited with the Packers on Monday and the Ravens on Tuesday. Schefter adds that he met with the Colts today and will see the Chiefs tomorrow.
One team that could see Simmons in the future is the Texans, who have been doing plenty of research on offensive linemen after seeing some changes to their starting lineup for 2025. The team hosted North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel today, per Wilson. Zabel had experience playing for the Bison at all four tackle and guard spots but is widely seen as one of the top center prospects in the class, a position at which Houston would welcome an upgrade with open arms. The team also hosted fringe first-round prospect Aireontae Ersery out of Minnesota. Playing left tackle for the Golden Gophers, Ersery could be a potential tackle of the future to step in after Cam Robinson or Trent Brown.