'20 KY TE Michael Mayer (Notre Dame Signee)

CTIDANDREW

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I think we need to remember that Sam Laporta has the best offensive coordinator in the league calling plays for him, and QB who is playing at a top ten level.
Michael got stuck with McDaniel's who again is proving he is nothing without TB12 and a mixture of Jimmy G and Aidan O'connell (??)
Circumstances matter greatly when you get drafted in the NFL, and unfortunately so far it looks like Mayer got a less then ideal one.

Hopefully his pure talent will allow him to overcome it, or a regime change will happen before its too late for him.
 

PutuporShutup

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I'm rooting for MM, but Sam LaPorta is having a rookie season that simply is not normal. Gotta hand it to the Lions because the early returns look like they're handing me my own bias for MM right back to me.
Laporta moves better than Mayer, it's pretty obvious and why it's not shocking he was taken early. Mayer is a better blocker, and has great hands, but his movement just isn't at that elite TE level in the NFL. It's not just the 40, it's in and out of breaks, nimbleness, etc.

Love mayer, best in college, won't be the best in the nfl from his own draft class, and that's ok. He should have a good long career.
 

Jiggafini19Deux

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I believe the Raiders traded up to get Mayer when LaPorta went off the board the pick prior. He was the third TE taken among 15 TE total. Early second round, 35th overall. The Raiders gave him four years, $9M with a $3.7M signing bonus and $7.5M guaranteed.

Mayer's a month into his rookie season. No disrespect, no reason to panic.

LaPorta was the classic Iowa low three star recruit from Nowhere, Illinois that developed into an NFL player.
 

IrishLion

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The way the Bengals have used Myles Murphy, they would have been better off sucking up the “reach” and taking Mayer and then grabbing a DE later on.

Their reasoning was that they didn’t want to over-value the TE position with a late first round pick… but Burrow is at his best with a safety blanket that can beat LB’s (would have also helped for the short passing game while Burrow was/is still dealing with his calf strain).

Hopefully Murphy turns into a full-time guy that makes an impact, but right now it looks like a first-round blunder for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Can’t have that.
 

irishff1014

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I think we need to remember that Sam Laporta has the best offensive coordinator in the league calling plays for him, and QB who is playing at a top ten level.
Michael got stuck with McDaniel's who again is proving he is nothing without TB12 and a mixture of Jimmy G and Aidan O'connell (??)
Circumstances matter greatly when you get drafted in the NFL, and unfortunately so far it looks like Mayer got a less then ideal one.

Hopefully his pure talent will allow him to overcome it, or a regime change will happen before its too late for him.

I agree McDaniel is not a good.
 

IA4irish

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He’s had a slower start to his career than expected. I place that on the incompetence around him more than anything he’s doing. Absolute stud. Hopefully first of many.
 

ulukinatme

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He’s had a slower start to his career than expected. I place that on the incompetence around him more than anything he’s doing. Absolute stud. Hopefully first of many.
Mayer is too competitive to be mediocre. I still think he'll have a longer career than the other two TEs drafted ahead of him simply because he's more complete and has that chip on his shoulder. LaPorta has looked really good in a really good Detroit offense so far, but I think Mayer would have looked just as good in that offense.
 

Jiggafini19Deux

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Mayer is too competitive to be mediocre. I still think he'll have a longer career than the other two TEs drafted ahead of him simply because he's more complete and has that chip on his shoulder. LaPorta has looked really good in a really good Detroit offense so far, but I think Mayer would have looked just as good in that offense.
I'd have the team doctor check this if I were him.

Here is what he said about this back in May:

Q: A lot of pre-draft stuff had you as a first-round pick. Even one I saw had you as the best tight end in this draft. I guess my question is, is that what you expected? Were you expecting that you would go on the first round? Do you see yourself as the best tight end of this draft? And how do you approach that? Obviously the Raiders were surprised to see you there, so they traded up to get you. Are you a 'chip on your shoulder' type of guy or is it you're set out to prove that you are the best tight end in this draft?

Mayer:
"I'll tell you exactly how I approached it. Starting Jan. 2, kind of when this whole thing started, I said I don't want to have any regrets. I'm going to do everything I need to do and that's sort of what I did. I felt like I had a good combine. I felt like I had a good pro day. So, a couple of weeks ago I'd been sitting with my parents, sitting with my agent and it was kind of like, 'You did everything you needed to do, you controlled the control-ables. So at this point, you need to relax, enjoy it and whoever takes you, takes you. There's nothing else you can do.' That was kind of my mindset going in. It was, 'You did everything you needed to do, you felt like you had a good combine, had good meetings and a good pro day.' It's awesome that I ended up in this organization's lap. I'm very excited for it, and I'm very happy for it."

Which is the right approach and correct thing to say publicly.
 

ulukinatme

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I'd have the team doctor check this if I were him.

Here is what he said about this back in May:



Which is the right approach and correct thing to say publicly.
Yup. Very smart response, the mature thing to say. He's going to prove the other teams shouldn't have passed on him.
 

ulukinatme

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How is that TE who got drafted ahead of him going?

Laporta? Possible pro bowler and has looked fantastic and future All-Pro


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Mayer would eat in that offense. Not saying he'd do better than LaPorta, but Detroit knows how to use their TE and Goff has been playing well. While McDaniel was HC of the Raiders he only knew how to scheme for Adams.
 

dublinirish

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Their trading up to get him seems to make sense now in the short term.

Mayer went with the very next pick.

I was livid with the picks at the time but tbf LaPorta, Campbell, Branch and Gibbs have all been great so far heck they even had a late round pick start on the OL the other week in a pinch. Brad Holmes is a wizard


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ulukinatme

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With McDaniels exit and Jimmy G out we've seen Mayer start to get more attention. He fully took over the starting TE role from Hooper at some point and he's now 4th on the team in yards. He's not going to catch Kincaid and LaPorta as he's still ~200 yards behind them, but he also has half the targets or less compared to them. He's averaging more per play.
 

IRISHDODGER

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With McDaniels exit and Jimmy G out we've seen Mayer start to get more attention. He fully took over the starting TE role from Hooper at some point and he's now 4th on the team in yards. He's not going to catch Kincaid and LaPorta as he's still ~200 yards behind them, but he also has half the targets or less compared to them. He's averaging more per play.
Wait until Brock Bowers wins the Heisman, the Mackey, the Outland & the Lombardi before going 1st overall in the draft and you’ll forget about any TE that came before him in the pros.

Seriously Bowers is elite but TE like him & Kincaid are different than TE like MM & Laporta. I get why Bowers is so valuable b/c he can line up anywhere. He’s good enough at blocking to maintain elite TE status but, to me; he’s best used as an offensive weapon that can be put anywhere on the field vs traditional NFL TE.
 

ulukinatme

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Wait until Brock Bowers wins the Heisman, the Mackey, the Outland & the Lombardi before going 1st overall in the draft and you’ll forget about any TE that came before him in the pros.

Seriously Bowers is elite but TE like him & Kincaid are different than TE like MM & Laporta. I get why Bowers is so valuable b/c he can line up anywhere. He’s good enough at blocking to maintain elite TE status but, to me; he’s best used as an offensive weapon that can be put anywhere on the field vs traditional NFL TE.

He ain't that good as a blocker. I've never seen a Bowers highlight reel that includes blocks, and he didn't grade that well last year on it. I haven't seen this year's data though. He's a phenom as a receiver, but that's all I really see him as.
 

yankeehater

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4 /5 yesterday with 46 yards
On the first possession, he fumbled which was returned for a TD. The play was reviewed and overturned saying he did not have possession before the hit. Thought maybe they would lose confidence in him but came back to him with a target and catch later in the drive.
 
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