Where Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer goes in Todd McShay’s latest NFL mock draft
With the NFL Combine in the rearview mirror and the NFL Draft rapidly approaching, ESPN’s Todd McShay released his latest mock draft Tuesday morning. Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer is still firmly in the mix to be a first-round selection.
McShay has Mayer going No. 15 overall to the Green Bay Packers. He’s the first tight end McShay has getting selected. Here’s his reasoning via ESPN.com:
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“I fit Mayer with Green Bay in my last mock, too. Let’s improve this offensive supporting cast. Christian Watson looked awesome last season, but Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan are free agents. It doesn’t matter if it’s Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love or me throwing the ball, this has to be a focus this offseason. Perhaps GM Brian Gutekunst becomes enamored with a receiver like USC’s Jordan Addison or Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but I’m leaning toward Mayer, a 6-5 tight end with a wide catch radius and some physical traits after the catch. He came down with 67 catches for 809 yards and nine TDs last season, and he can be a serious matchup problem for opponents in the red zone.”
Here are Mayer’s numbers from the combine:
Height/weight: 6-foot-4 ½, 249 pounds (was 6-foot-4 ½, 265 on Notre Dame 2022 roster)
Arms: 31 5/8”
Hands: 9 ½”
40-yard dash: 4.7 (T-9 out of 13 tight ends)
10-yard split: 1.66 (13 out of 13)
Broad jump: 9’10” (9 out of 15)
Vertical jump: 32.5” (12 out of 14)
The 40-yard dash time might worry some front office personnel who are married to speed at every position in this era of the NFL, but Notre Dame has its own recent test-case to prove 40 times aren’t make or break numbers. His name is Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton had the second-slowest 40-yard dash time among safeties at the 2022 NFL Combine. He turned that into multiple All-Rookie Team selections.
Sometimes the tape doesn’t lie. Hamilton had the college highlight reel worthy of a mid-first round selection. He went No. 14 overall to the Baltimore Ravens. If the Packers took Mayer with the No. 15 overall pick in 2023, they’ll likely be just as content with that selection as the Ravens are with Hamilton.
