Michael Mayer 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Notre Dame TE
Michael Mayer, Notre Dame
6’4”, 250 pounds; JR
The number two tight-end recruit in 2020, behind only Arik Gilbert, Mayer already stood out as a freshman with his natural receiving skills as the TE1 for the Irish, forcing them to use eventual third-round pick Tommy Tremble as more of an H-back or fullback. He led the position group with 42 catches for 450 yards that year, but only two touchdowns. In 2021, he increased his numbers to 71 grabs for 840 yards and seven TDs, earning himself third-team All-American honors. Finally, last year, he made first-team All-American with nearly identical numbers (67-809-nine).
+ Looks and plays like your prototypical Y tight-end, but carries those 250 pounds very easily, with no clunky movement to speak of
+ Provides great effort and natural power as a blocker, along with the sheer size to deal with true hand-in-the-dirt defensive ends
+ Can consistently widen the edge near the point of attack and work in concert with the tackle on combos, allowing the ball-carrier to press that way on wide zone and other concepts
+ You see him cave in backside edge defenders to crash through the C-gap and allow the ball-carrier to cut all the way back regularly
+ Excels at bringing that inside foot around and putting his body in the way of edge defenders away from the action
+ Can take corners and safeties for a ride when asked to lead the way on fly sweeps, And he takes out multiple bodies on occasions
+ Whether it’s kick-outs on the backside or leading out to the corner away from his alignment, he was frequently brought across the formation and took out guys – Notre Dame would put him on the inside of tight bunches and almost pull out wide on those a few times, including some end-arounds, where he would revert out to the perimeter
+ Has shown plus alignment flexibility, with 859 snaps in-line, 472 in the slot and 136 out wide across the last two years
+ Eats up a lot of ground with those long strides and has those natural receiving skills, where he’s in control of his body and adjusts it to the ball
+ Ran a lot more corner routes and out-and-ups than you’d expect from a guy at 250+ pounds – led all draft-eligible TEs with eight catches of 20+ air yards
+ When flexed out wide, the way he could bend off the outside field and gain position on square-ins makes him an attractive target for easy yardage and to move the chains even if one-on-one with a corner
+ Uses his frame well to lean in and slightly push off to create separation against man-coverage
+ Can give safeties/slot defenders a little shake at the top of the route and beat them across their face, breaking in or out against defenders leveraged that way respectively
+ Understands when he’s supposed to just run off coverage and create rubs, choosing the stems/angles in accordance to create conflict for defenders
+ Fully extends for the ball on a consistent basis and instantly tucks it as he turns into a runner
+ Doesn’t struggle with contorting his body or trying to short-arm passes as it invites defenders back into the catch-point
+ Uses his body exceptionally well to shield defenders from the ball – hauled in 65.4% of his contested targets last season (17 of 26)
+ Yet when he has space, he can rip it out of the air and run through the catch – Often uses the momentum of the ball to turn himself upfield regularly on spot/hook/out routes
+ Becomes a load to bring down with the ball in his hands, lowering his pads and bouncing or spinning off tacklers, consistently falling forward for extra yardage
+ And what I love to see is how it instantly clicks for him to transition from route-runner to blocker as the ball goes to one of his teammates, displaying great effort and regularly putting smaller dudes on the ground
+ In terms of yards-per-game (68.7), Mayer finished ahead of even Georgia’s Brock Bowers as the most productive TE in the country and PFF awarded him with a 91.6 receiving grade
– Can end up lunging and losing his balance at times as a blocker, limiting the way he can sustain blocks for longer stretches
– Not a dynamic separator who can push guys up the field with the way he comes off the ball and comes out of his breaks without any delay
– Could still improve his footwork off the line (becoming more efficient with it) to create release angles for himself against man-coverage, particularly when flexed out wide
– Ran an underwhelming 4.7 flat in the 40 and had just a 32.5-inch vert at the combine, and you don’t really see him pull away with pure speed from safeties before or after the catch
Take what I said about Dalton Kincaid in the paragraph above and completely flip it around. Mayer is a throwback, in terms of being able to play at the end of the line full-time and execute anything asked of him in terms of blocking assignments inside the box. Yet, he doesn’t seem uncomfortably detached and has been uber-productive as the primary target for the Irish.
Now, you do have to question if he has the explosiveness or speed to be a consistent separator at the next level, but as long as the ball is placed accordingly, the way he uses his body and how strong his hands are, it doesn't seem to matter a lot of times, because he hauls those passes in anyway. If Mayer entered the NFL a decade ago, he’d most likely be a top-ten pick. In today’s game, his skill set is worth more so a mid-to-late-first capital.
Grade: Late first round
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