As draft season warms up, one notable mock has a bold projection for Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer
Most 2023 NFL mock drafts and prospect rankings have Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer No. 1 at his position. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay went one step further, though. He pegged Mayer as the first pass catcher taken in his debut 2023 mock draft and slotted him ahead of any wide receiver in his top 32 prospects list.
Mayer is the No. 12 overall pick in McShay’s mock, going to the Houston Texans. He is McShay’s No. 11 prospect in the draft. He appears one spot ahead of TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston in each.
“Mayer’s best traits are his toughness and strength after the catch,” McShay wrote. “He’s a bulldozer with the ball in his hands, and he generates yards by breaking tackles and carrying defenders. Of his 809 receiving yards in 2022, 345 came after the catch. He is not a speedster, but shows a lot of savvy setting up defenders at the top of stem and locating soft spots in zone.
“Mayer also has a big catch radius and reliable hands, and he does a very good job adjusting to the ball outside his frame.”
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That sounds like a consensus top tight end prospect. McShay rates him ahead of any wide receiver, though, in part because he views him as a safe pro projection. It’s also worth noting that in the mock draft, Mayer went to the same team that took Alabama quarterback Bryce Young at No. 1 overall.
“It’s like watching a third-year veteran in the NFL playing at the college level for a year like he just got dropped in,” McShay said Tuesday on ESPN’s This Just In. “He fits the part in terms of physically. He’s a really good blocker. Most importantly, his instincts and understanding and feel in the pass game, his ball skills and then after the catch, he’s a bulldozer.
“He’ll just run over guys. He lacks elite speed, but that’s it. Outside of that, he’s a complete player. If you’re drafting a quarterback at No. 1, and then you get an opportunity to bring in that security blanket, I would love that combination if you get Bryce Young at No. 1 and then Michael Mayer at 12.”
Mayer had the look of a three-and-done prospect since his freshman year of 2020. The discussion for much of his college career wasn’t if he would be drafted. It was how high, and eventually, how high in the first round? There won’t be much debate around his status as a top-30 prospect. But will a team actually draft him in the top 15, let alone before any receiver is taken? Both are bold claims.
Receivers are commodities in the draft. Tight ends, meanwhile, don’t carry the same value as draft prospects. Trey McBride, the first tight chosen in the 2022 draft, was picked 55th overall. Kyle Pitts was a rare tight end prospect and went fourth in 2021. Cole Kmet was the first one chosen in 2020, but lasted until pick No. 43. Before that, 2019 TE1 T.J. Hockenson went No. 8 overall, and Hayden Hurst went No. 28 in 2018.
At the same time, this might be the combination of a draft with no clear top-10 receiver prospect and an obvious first-round tight end to make McShay’s prediction come true.
Mayer declared for the draft Dec. 7 and will not play for Notre Dame in the Dec. 30 Gator Bowl vs. No. 19 South Carolina. He ended the season with 67 catches for 809 yards and 9 touchdowns, all top-three among FBS tight ends. He is the first Irish tight end to be named a consensus or unanimous All-American since Ken MacAfee in 1977.
Mayer departs Notre Dame having set most major career- and single-season program records for a tight end. He had 180 career catches for 2,099 yards and 18 touchdowns, all the most by an Irish tight end. He holds single-season tight end records for receptions (71), yards (840) and touchdowns (9). His 11 catches in Notre Dame’s Oct. 8 win over BYU are the most in one game by a Notre Dame tight end.
