GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Senior Bowl Week coming up, two early favorites have emerged for the Green Bay Packers with their first-round pick within the 2023 NFL Draft.
One is Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness. The opposite is Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer, who was the pick for Green Bay in the newest NFL Draft Bible mock draft.
Mayer was a consensus first-team All-American this season, the 106th in program history but its first tight end since 1977. Amongst all tight ends in FBS, Mayer was second with 67 receptions, third with 809 yards and first with nine touchdowns.
“Mayer forces opposing defenders to make business decisions with the ball in his hands, as he runs at them like a Mack truck,” reads a part of his scouting report. “He is incredibly tough to bring down, often requiring multiple defenders to achieve this. The team captain brings a ferocious intensity and is a notorious hard employee. While his blocking is adequate, there’s room for improvement in his development. Overall, his ability to run, catch, block and break tackles makes him a direct impact player at the subsequent level.”
The Packers could have an enormous need at tight end depending on the team’s plans with Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis, the unit’s veteran standouts who’re hitting free agency.
If the Packers resolve to go young, a stellar draft class of tight ends awaits – an announcement that hasn’t been used often in recent times.
With the power to make a difference as a receiver in addition to a blocker, Mayer is the highest two-way tight end within the draft. He’s been mentored by longtime NFL standout Kyle Rudolph, who spent the 2022 season with the Buccaneers.
“There aren’t a lot of those guys in football nowadays,” Rudolph told Notre Dame Insider. “(There’s) a number of specialty-type tight ends, and (Mayer) is type of that old-school construct body type and he can do all of it.”
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has the shortest odds to be the primary player drafted at FanDuel Sportsbook at -120, with Young and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud being the front-runners. Mayer is +20000.
100 Days of Mocks
Starting Jan. 17, when there have been 100 days until the beginning of the NFL Draft, we began our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here’s the 100-day-countdown series.
100 days: First-round quarterback?
99 days: Trading for outdoor linebacker
97 days: This pick would break an extended drought
96 days: NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah goes back to Georgia
95 days: Two firsts if Rodgers is traded
94 days: College Football News mocks Mayer
93 days: Safety first for Bucky Brooks in NFL.com mock
92 days: Kiper takes a good end
91 days: Three defensive backs in seven-round mock
90 days: Playmaking cornerback at PFF
89 days: Sorry, vacation day.
