2023 NFL DRAFT: MICHAEL MAYER

By Brandon Lane

NOTRE DAME (JR), TE

In today’s NFL everyone is looking for the athletic freaks that jump off the page with their testing scores. That is not Mayer who falls into more of the old-school style of tight end along the line of Jason Witten. He does everything well enough to succeed and keep himself on the field as an every-down player in the NFL. He was successful all three of his seasons at Notre Dame but really popped his sophomore year with 71 receptions, 840 yards and 7 TDs. He continued that momentum in his final season (Junior year) hauling in 67 balls for 809 yards and 9 TDs. While he might not be the new-age athletic freak, he is the type of player coaches love and we expect him to be the 2nd tight end off the board selected somewhere in the middle-to-end of Round 1 in this year’s draft.

Pluses:

• Football IQ
• Wins in contested situations even without elite speed
• Hard to take down
• Functional blocker
• Works hard and gets the job done

Concerns:

• Lacks speed and burst
• Doesn’t always make adjustments quickly
• Not a YAC guy