Newsstand: Where Michael Mayer, Isaiah Foskey rank in ESPN writer’s top 100 NFL Draft prospects
For the last three decades, ESPN Senior Writer Jeff Legwold has compiled a list of the top 100 NFL Draft prospects developed from varying opinions from NFL evaluators. Legwold revealed this year’s edition, and two former Notre Dame standouts made the cut.
Tight end Michael Mayer and Isaiah Foskey checked in as the No. 12 and No. 57 overall prospects in this year’s NFL Draft, according to Legwold’s rankings. The NFL Draft kicks off with the first round on Thursday in Kansas City.
The 6-foot-4, 249-pound Mayer is Legwold’s top tight end, slotting nine spots ahead of Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave.
“There are others in this deep TE class who are faster and more fluid receivers,” Legwold said, “but Mayer might be the best at contested catches and offers a high level of blocking skill at the in-line tight end position.”
After a terrific Notre Dame career, Mayer declared for the NFL Draft in December. He finished his three-year campaign catching 180 passes for 2,099 yards and 18 touchdowns. Those marks rank atop the Irish record books among tight end statistics.
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Foskey, the Irish all-time sack leader, is a projected second-round NFL Draft selection. He is the seventh defensive end on the list, behind Tyree Wilson (Texas Tech), Myles Murphy (Clemson), Will McDonald (Iowa State), Lukas Van Ness (Iowa), Felix Anudike-Uzomah (Kansas State) and Tuli Tuipulotu (Southern California).
“A team captain, he has all he needs to be an impactful, disruptive player on the edge, but there are too many moments when he isn’t,” Legwold said. “He doesn’t always keep blockers’ hands off him despite a reach advantage. Special teams coaches will notice he blocked four punts in his career, two in one game.”
Foskey finished his Notre Dame career with 122 tackles (74 solo), 31.5 tackles for loss, 26.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles and two pass breakups. He is coming off a Consensus All-American season, in which he had 45 tackles (23 solo), 14 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.
Notre Dame Tweets of the Weekend
ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Matt Miller on Foskey.
Three Notre Dame legacy recruits and their fathers were on campus for Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game.
Notre Dame’s Gerad Parker concluded his first spring as the program’s offensive coordinator.
Notre Dame Quote of the Weekend
“To the Irish fans, we have a few surprises coming up. We’re excited to keep this class rolling.”
— Four-star quarterback commit CJ Carr when describing the status of Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class.
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