Cowboys draft 2023: TE Michael Mayer scouting report

We continue with our 2023 NFL Draft draft prospect review of players that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we look at tight end Michael Mayer from Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

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Previous prospect reviews:

DT Bryan Bresee
CB Kelee Ringo
LB Andre Carter II
CB Joey Porter Jr
WR Jalin Hyatt
OG O’Cyrus Torrence
RB Bijan Robinson
C John Michael Schmitz
RB Devon Achane
CB Devon Witherspoon
RB Jahmyr Gibbs
TE Darnell Washington
DE Will McDonald IV
CB Emmanuel Forbes
iOL Steve Avila
WR Quentin Johnson
LB Trenton Simpson

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Michael Mayer was given a five-star grade by 247 Sports coming out of high school and rated as the number two tight end recruit in the country. He had 16 offers which included Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State but chose to play for Notre Dame Fighting Irish and enrolled in 2020.

In his freshman year, Mayer played 442 snaps for Notre Dame. He had 42 receptions, recorded 450 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns. He averaged 10.7 yards per reception and earned a passer rating of 108.4 when targeted. As a blocker, he allowed no pressures all year and zero sacks.

As a sophomore in 2021, Mayer played a total of 685 snaps. He recorded 71 receptions, 840 yards and scored seven touchdowns. He averaged 11.8 yards per reception and had a pass rating when targeted of 109.9. Again he allowed zero pressures and sacks as a blocker. Mayer finished fourth in receiving yards, sixth in touchdowns and third in receptions among tight ends in only his second year playing.

In Mayer’s junior year in 2022, he played a total of 748 snaps. He recorded 67 receptions for 809 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged a fantastic 12.1 YPC and had a passer rating of 103.9 when targeted. As a blocker he allowed one sack and one pressure. Mayer had his career game in Week 6 against BYU when he scored two touchdowns and went for 118 yards. He finished the season third in receiving yards, second in receptions and first in touchdowns among tight ends, and left Notre Dame as the reception leader at the tight end position in the history of the school.

Michael Mayer
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Junior
5-star high school recruit
Height- 6’4”
Weight- 249
Hands- 9 1/2
Arm Length- 31 5/8
Wingspan- 76 1/4

NFL Combine/Pro Day:

10-Yard Split- 1.66s (CM)
40-Yard Time- 4.70s (CM)
Vert- 32.5” (CM)
Broad- 118 (CM)
Bench- 21 (PD)
Shuttle- 4.44s (PD)
3C- 7.26s (PD)

Awards:

2022- All-American Team
2021- Third-Team All-American Team
2020- Third-Team ACC

Scorecard:

Overall- 89.7/100
Catching- 83/100
Route Running- 83/100
Blocking- 92/100
Speed- 82/100
Strength- 82/100
Acceleration- 90/100
Agility- 71/100

THE GOOD

• From all of this year’s tight end class Mayer is the best all-around blocker.
• Has good strength, power and hand technique to get into his blocks effectively.
• Maintains a strong and stable base to sustain his blocks.
• Very quick off mark and his suddenness off the snap is elite.
• Has deceptive acceleration on his route breaks.
• Has great ability to find the soft spots in coverage and attack them.
• Extremely good aggression with his hands and body to beat man coverage.
• Very smooth mover and accelerator on routes.
• Shows great balance at the catch point.
• Natural catcher of the ball. Will make off-balance catches or difficult catches on under thrown balls.
• Locates the ball well even in traffic and shows good ability to get up to high point the ball when called upon.
• Very effective in the red zone and and a complete mismatch on short field situations.
• Played in the slot and out wide with good effectiveness.
• Dominated at the position for two years in college.

THE BAD

• Doesn’t offer much in yards-after-catch ability.
• Had lapses of concentration in blocking technique which led to him having to try to scramble to recover.
• Sometimes fails to use all his strength potential on blocks as though he’s trying to keep something in reserve.
• Not a downfield burner, won’t out-run defenders in a chase.
• The stigma of his position will have people questioning his high-value appeal.
• Route tree is not classed as limited but also not expansive.
• Not a complete athlete.

THE FIT

Michael Mayer came to Notre Dame as a high-potential tight end and didn’t disappoint. He was a force to reckon with in both his sophomore and junior years. In 2022 when some impressive tight ends got drafted (Trey McBride, Jelani Woods and even Jake Ferguson), he was still a cut above those players. His skills as both a blocker and a receiver translate extremely easily in the NFL, and his transition to the NFL game should be fairly easy for the level of player he currently is. His ability to play the traditional “Y” tight end position at a high level will be enticing as his skills are rare and hard to find at such a high level out of college. His issues come from his lack of athletic ability, but also how tight ends take time to reach their potential. Add the high depth at this year’s tight end class and analysts and GM’s have a hard time establishing his value in this year’s draft. Whichever team drafts him will expect a long and productive career as he develops year by year.

Top 15 prospect
(All scout consensus ranking: 25th)

COWBOYS COMPARISON
Jason Witten

Here is the player profile of Mayer from former BTB’er Connor Livesay. Click here if you want details to get the full draft guy (highly recommended).