Scouting Report: Does Michael Mayer Fit In The Bengals Offense?

Cincinnati talked to a bunch tight ends at last weeks NFL Combine.

Author:
Mike Santagata
Updated:
Mar 8, 2023 10:17 AM EST
Original:
Mar 8, 2023

In this story:

Michael Mayer is a former five-star recruit from Covington Catholic High School (Kentucky) just outside of Cincinnati.

He enrolled at the University of Notre Dame and has been a huge part of their offense since his freshman season. He was a finalist for the John Mackey award this past season and was a semi-finalist in 2021.

Over the past two seasons, he broke every tight-end receiver record at Notre Dame. His 71 catches and 840 yards in 2021 broke both of those records.

This past season he caught 9 touchdowns, which also set the record for tight ends at Notre Dame. He produces through crafty route running, a great release package, and great hands.

Where He Excels

The best part of Mayer’s game is his varied release package. As a tight end, you have to release at both the first level (DE) and the second level (LB/S) to keep yourself clean, stay on the track of the route, and be correct with your timing. Mayer has shown proficient use of a swipe, throw by, rip, jab and go, and split release. A defender is rarely able to knock him off of his track.

Mayer does not have elite quickness or change of direction. Instead, he wins by setting himself up well, understanding leverage, intelligence, and craftiness. His push-off at the breakpoint is not yet perfect because he extends his arm a bit too far, but it was very effective at the collegiate level. He works well on underneath and intermediate routes to create separation in man and processes zone well to find soft spots.

Mayer has good power as a blocker despite his somewhat slender size. He delivers great blows on combination blocks, can seal and open up lanes on sift blocks, and will routinely drive safeties and defensive backs down the field.

His body control is top-notch and should help him adjust in the air for balls, along with making catches along the sideline. Having high level body control is one of the most underappreciated abilities in a receiver. He should bring in inaccurate balls, make contested catches over defenders, and bring in spectacular grabs along the sideline.

Mayer has some of the best hands in the class. His 60% contested catch rate ranks the best out of all the tight ends in the consensus top 100, and his 6.3% drop rate is second best behind Dalton Kincaid. He’s a reliable target and should be one of the primary weapons on third downs for a team.

Mayer was insanely productive at Notre Dame. He broke every season record for tight ends in terms of receiving at Notre Dame. Back-to-back 800-plus yard seasons is rare for a tight end to accomplish. He was also very efficient, as he has the best yards per route run in the class.

Areas of Concern

While he’s powerful and has some areas where he’s a plus blocker, he struggles to sustain his blocks and gives up his chest too often. When you consider how short his arms are, this could be more of a physical issue than a technical issue. Overall he’s just too inconsistent as a blocker to be considered more than a net neutral in this regard.

He’s not an elite athlete at the tight end position. He has all the technical aspects that you are looking for in a tight end, but he is not a guy that will be able to consistently work down the field.

Mayer is not really a guy that creates a lot for himself after the catch. Once in a while, he makes a guy miss and breaks into the open field, but more often than not—he’s the type of tight end that catches the ball and then tries to plow forward.

Overall Thoughts

Michael Mayer looks like a plug-and-play tight end from day 1.

Mayer does a great job with all of the technical aspects of receiving the ball as a tight end. Despite his good but not great athleticism, he creates separation consistently from safeties and defensive backs because of his intelligence and technique. His variety of releases will make him a guy that should excel at catching the ball as a rookie. He does a good job at the break point and understands how to tempo his routes at times rather than run them all at full speed. He has some room to grow because he still extends his hand just a little bit too far when he’s pushing off at the breakpoint.

Against zone, he understands both his route in combination with the concept and the coverage that he is facing with where he can sit.

He’s a mixed bag when it comes to blocking. He has a reputation as one of the best blockers in this class because he will deliver a pancake and his ability to target the near hip for a devastating combo block—but his inability to sustain blocks takes away from the overall impact he has blocking.

Linebackers and defensive linemen give him trouble when he’s not just giving help, and instead gets asked to take them one-on-one. He allows guys to get into his chest to shock and shed him. Because of his short arms, he really needs to learn how to keep his chest clean, tighten his hand placement, and lock into defenders to sustain these blocks. He may never become great at sustaining blocks because of the arm length, but if he can become above average there—then he should be a plus blocker in the NFL.

Scheme Fit

Michael Mayer works as an all-around TE. He can play the Y as an in-line blocker and as an off-ball TE. He can split out into the slot, and Notre Dame used him as the backside X on some trips formations. He probably works best if he’s tight to the line but off the ball at the NFL level asked to sift block/pull and wrap.

Grade

Early Second Round

Pro Comparison

Hunter Henry

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