It is the top picks in the NFL Draft that get the most attention, but more often than not the success of a team’s draft is contingent on how well they do in the middle rounds. The Las Vegas Raiders know this all too well with Maxx Crosby and Hunter Renfrow being fourth and fifth-round selections respectively. And many believe new tight end Michael Mayer could be this year’s version of that.
Mayer was the top-rated tight end on many draft boards and seemed to be a lock as a first-round selection. Surprisingly, however, Mayer fell to the Raiders in the second round, and the team grabbed him with the 35th overall pick.
It was great value for a player who could step into a starting role from Day 1 for this Raiders team, and ESPN’s Todd McShay named Mayer his favorite pick the franchise made in the 2023 NFL Draft:
I was pretty surprised Mayer, who was No. 19 on my board, didn’t go in the first round. Talk about a high-floor prospect. He will give you a little bit of everything, but his best traits are toughness and strength after the catch.
He’s a human bulldozer once the ball is in his hands, running over defenders. At 6-foot-5, he’s a huge target with good hands, and no one is better in contested catch situations in this class. But Mayer is also a true all-around tight end, with the power to be effective as an in-line blocker.
I could see him moving around quite a bit in Las Vegas, stacking as a base Y tight end or flexing out to beat defensive backs with his precise routes and size advantage.
As McShay noted, Mayer can do everything at the tight end position. While many tight ends these days are basically bigger receivers, Mayer can still block extremely well as traditional tight ends do. But that hasn’t taken away from his ability as a receiver as well.
Over the last two seasons, Mayer totaled 138 catches for 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns. At nearly 6-foot-5 and 249 pounds he also gives the Raiders another red zone target and with the team already having DaVante Adams, Josh Jacobs and Jakobi Meyers on offense, it will be impossible for the opposition to key in on him too much.
Even though the Raiders signed Austin Hooper and O.J. Howard in NFL free agency after dealing away Darren Waller, it is Michael Mayer who has the potential to hold down that tight end position for a very long time.
