Another day, and another mock draft sending Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer to the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2023 draft.
ESPN’s Todd McShay sent Mayer to the Packers at No. 15 overall in his latest first-round mock draft.
Mayer-to-Green-Bay is an easy match for mock drafters: The team with a gigantic need at tight end takes the player widely viewed as the best at the position.
From McShay: “Mayer has a huge catch radius and is a bulldozer after the catch, hauling in 67 balls for 809 yards and nine scores last season. He might be the safest prospect in the entire class thanks to an all–around skill set, and he’d be an instant–impact player for Green Bay.”
The Packers only have H-back Josiah Deguara and practice squaders Austin Allen and Nick Guggemos under contract at tight end for 2023. Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan are both free agents with uncertain futures in Green Bay.
Even if the Packers retained Lewis or Tonyan, the team needs more production and playmaking ability from the position. Lewis isn’t a threat in the passing game, and Tonyan averaged 8.9 yards per catch last season.
Mayer, 21, was a consensus All-American in 2022 and a third-team All-American in 2021. Over the last two seasons, he caught 138 passes and scored 16 touchdowns. Mayer left Notre Dame as the school’s all-time leader in catches (180) by a tight end.
PFF called Mayer “one of the highest-floor players in the draft.” He averaged 2.44 yards per route run, caught almost 70 percent of contested targets and dropped only four passes while producing an excellent run-blocking grade in 2022.
Could Mayer be the dual-threat tight end the Packers have long needed in Matt LaFleur’s offense? He figures to be a reliable pass-catcher who can get it done in the run game at the next level. And if Tonyan and/or Lewis departed, Mayer would have a chance to be a rookie starter.
The only question: Would the Packers really take a tight end with a draft pick in the top half of the first round?
