Packers get much-needed Tight End help in recent mock draft

With the Green Bay Packers’ 2022 season now in the books, we are now officially in mock draft season. And with that, a recent mock draft from Luke Easterling of Draft Wire has the Packers getting some much-needed help at tight end by selecting Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer.

Standing 6’4″ and weighing 265 pounds, Mayer was a huge part of the Notre Dame passing game. He finished his college career with 255 targets, over three seasons, including 95 in 2021 and 101 in 2022. He would go on to catch 71% of those passes at 11.7 yards per catch, with a career-high of 12.1 yards in 2022. Mayer also found the end zone 18 times, 16 of which came over the last two seasons.

Mayer was moved around the Notre Dame offensive formation, playing mostly from the slot but also lining up inline as well as out wide. This ability to line up really anywhere is an important aspect of playing in the Matt LaFleur system. Mayer was active in the passing game at all four levels, but the bulk of his production in 2022 came over the middle–an area that the Packers can better attack if Aaron Rodgers is back under center.

Another important aspect of being in the LaFleur system is blocking ability. Mayer has experience in this capacity, with 918 career run-blocking snaps. For what it’s worth, he finished with the sixth-highest run-blocking grade among tight ends by PFF in 2022.

The Draft Network currently has Mayer as the top-rated tight end in this class. For more on his game, here is what Kyle Crabbs had to say in his pre-draft report.

"“Mayer illustrates several top-shelf physical qualities that should be hallmarks of his game for years to come,” wrote Crabbs. “His hands and ability to catch in traffic jump off the screen at you immediately. Mayer runs hard and with authority, putting defensive backs in a bind when deciding how to challenge him. As a blocker, Mayer has good functional strength, effective hand punch, and does well to sustain his base—he appears more pro-ready in this regard than most college tight end prospects.”"

For the Packers, tight end is a massive need for them this offseason. The only player at the position under contract heading into 2023 at the moment is Josiah Deguara. It’s probably safe to say that Tyler Davis will be back as well as a restricted free agent, but he has minimal NFL experience on offense. Other than that, this is a position with a lot of question marks.

Regardless of how the Packers choose to round out the tight end position for this upcoming season, they need more dynamic playmaking in the passing game from it. This was very much lacking this past season and contributed to the overall issues in the passing attack. On top of that, if Marcedes Lewis does choose to retire, a big part of the Packers’ run game will also be missing.

With that said, while there is very much a need, tight end is not a position that Green Bay typically values highly in the draft. So with other needs to fill, I do wonder if tight end will be on Brian Gutekunst’s radar at pick 15 in round one. Although I thought the same thing about linebacker, and then he took Quay Walker with his first pick.