2023 NFL draft: Where will Michael Mayer get picked?
Only one tight end had his name called in the first round of Thursday night’s NFL draft and that was Dalton Kincaid of Utah who went to the Buffalo Bills. Notre Dame record-setting tight end Michael Mayer remains on the board and the good news for him is that plenty of teams who pick fairly early in Friday night’s second round have a positional need at tight end.
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So where will Mayer go? And which of those possibilities would be the best landing spot for the former five-star recruit (that Mel Kiper, Jr. downplayed the recruitment of last night)?
Here are a handful of guesses at where Mayer will end up this evening:
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After a draft night that confused masses of NFL fans, the Lions have a couple of second round picks that could be used on Mayer. Since they traded T.J. Hockenson within the division last year the Lions are lacking at the position and in desperate need of an upgrade.
On a related note, former Notre Dame tight end Brock Wright has caught six touchdown passes over the last two years for Detroit. For those scoring at home, that’s five more than he had in his time at Notre Dame.
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One of Mayer’s biggest performances at Notre Dame came last year in the Shamrock Series game against BYU in Las Vegas. Could he soon be headed there again?
The Raiders signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this off-season which means it’d be in their best interest to have a trustworthy tight end for him to throw to – something you can really debate he has in veteran tight end Austin Hooper.
The Raiders currently sit with the 38th overall pick in the second round.
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Back in 2020, veteran tight end Tommy Tremble spent the majority of the year becoming an absolute star blocker for Notre Dame. He wasn’t thrown to all that often because he didn’t have to be seeing as a young Michael Mayer was making an instant impact.
Tremble has been fine for the Panthers as he’s hauled in 39 receptions and four touchdowns in two seasons. They could certainly upgrade the position however as they’ll have rookie quarterback Bryce Young to break-in and a young and capable tight end would certainly help.
Carolina has the 39th overall pick in the 2nd round.
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Mayer wears green and gold well already so the transition to being in Green Bay shouldn’t be too difficult for him if it’s to happen. The Packers return next to no production at the position from a year ago (17 receptions combined over two players) and getting Jordan Love a formidable tight end to throw to as his time as a starter begins would be extremely helpful.
The Packers hold the 42nd and 45th overall picks in the second round.
Dolphins
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I swear I’m not doing this on purpose but three of the five teams I’ve listed so far here already have former Notre Dame tight ends on their roster. Mike McDaniel has perhaps the speediest set of receivers in the NFL but is lacking a playmaking tight end (no offense, Durham Smythe). Seeing how much he liked calling plays for George Kittle in San Francisco, one would think Mayer would make sense if he’s to fall to 51 where the Dolphins are currently set to pick next.
Cowboys
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If you watched the ESPN broadcast of the NFL draft on Thursday night they certainly tried to speak Mayer to the Cowboys into existence. The need is there and their comparison to Jason Witten made plenty of sense. As solid as this fit would be, for Mayer’s sake the only way I hope he ends up in Dallas is if they trade up to get him because their next pick doesn’t happen until the 58th spot overall.
