100 Days of Mocks: Tight End in New McShay Mock

ESPN draft guru Todd McShay gave potential new Green Bay Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love a weapon in his updated mock draft.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Mar 7, 2023 4:01 PM EST

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – New mock draft, potential new starting quarterback but same first-round pick for the Green Bay Packers in Todd McShay’s latest mock draft for ESPN.com.

Sticking with his selection from his mid-February mock, McShay went with Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer on Tuesday.

“Let's improve this offensive supporting cast,” McShay wrote. “Christian Watson looked awesome last season, but Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan are free agents. It doesn't matter if it's Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love or me throwing the ball, this has to be a focus this offseason.”

McShay considered going with a receiver such as USC’s Jordan Addison or Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba at this spot but went with the physical tight end who is an adept receiver and physical blocker.

Mayer has a “wide catch radius and some physical traits after the catch,” McShay continued. “He came down with 67 catches for 809 yards and nine TDs last season, and he can be a serious matchup problem for opponents in the red zone.”

The Packers top tight ends, the pass-catching Tonyan and the run-blocking Marcedes Lewis, are slated to be free agents when the league-year begins on March 15. They combined to play more than 1,000 snaps.

Among the prospects in this strong class of tight ends, Mayer ranked second in receptions and yards, first in touchdowns, second in yards per pass route, first in contested catches (by a wide margin) and fifth in missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.

Mayer might not be the fastest tight end or the best route-runner but he’s considered the best all-around player at the position.

“I can block anybody you need me to block,” he said at the Scouting Combine, “but I feel like my red zone, my third down, I can really go up and get that ball, I can make contested catches and I can really route people up.”

Before the 2022 season, he joined Tonyan and Lewis at George Kittle’s Tight End University.

“The first thing I knew when I came out of there was, ‘Dang, I’ve got to get better at some stuff,’” Mayer told Rivals. “These guys were getting out of their breaks faster than me. They were getting up to catch balls, that type of thing. And I think that was one of the reasons I wanted to go. What did these guys do differently than I do? How are they getting out of their breaks faster than I do? And I got a lot out of it.”

Another big mock was dropped on Tuesday with NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein also going with Mayer over Utah’s prolific Dalton Kincaid.

“I believe any of top three tight ends could end up in this spot, depending on how the Packers prioritize athleticism vs. blocking, but Mayer is a solid combination of traits right here,” he explained.

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100 Days of Mocks

Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here’s the 100-day-countdown series.

52 days: Post-Scouting Combine roundup

All-Packers seven-round mock draft 1.0

53 days: Tight end, receiver in new mocks

54 days: Powerful edge

55 days: Kincaid and figure-skating safety

56 days: The dreaded third-round tight end

57 days: Three mocks, same tight end

58 days: Going the extra Myles

59 days: Safety, tight end, receiver in three-rounder

60 days: Two three-round mocks

61 days: Playing the slots

62 days: Three mocks, three receivers