Todd McShay: Why Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer is a top-10 NFL Draft prospect
ESPN analyst Todd McShay doesn’t just have Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer as the best tight end prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. He has him as a top-10 draft prospect, period.
McShay ranked Mayer as the ninth-best player in the draft on Tuesday. Here’s why:
“Mayer’s best traits are his toughness and strength after the catch. 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.
“He has an edge as a blocker, too, though his technique is still a work in progress. Mayer had nine TD catches last season, tied for 19th overall and first among tight ends in the country.”
The next highest-rated tight end on McShay’s big board is Utah’s Dalton Kincaid at No. 22 overall. Several draft projectors from various outlets have Kincaid potentially getting drafted ahead of Mayer.
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Not McShay.
In his latest mock draft, also revealed on Tuesday, McShay has Mayer going No. 15 overall to the Green Bay Packers. He has Kincaid going No. 26 overall to the Dallas Cowboys.
Mayer and Kincaid were both Mackey Award finalists in 2022. The award went to Georgia’s Brock Bowers, who’s a back-to-back national champion with the Bulldogs entering his junior season in 2023. Mayer had 809 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns in 12 games. Bowers had 942 and 7, respectively, in 15. He also had 9 rushing attempts for 109 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Here are McShay’s top 10 player prospects for April’s draft.
- Alabama quarterback Bryce Young
- Alabama outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr.
- Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud
- Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson
- Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski
- Texas running back Bijan Robinson
- Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez
- Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
- Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer
- Georgia outside linebacker Nolan Smith
