Notre Dame football: 3 potential NFL draft landing spots for Michael Mayer

Michael Mayer was the best tight end in college football in 2022 not named Brock Bowers. But the Notre Dame football star was right up there for the Mackey Award.

Bowers and Mayer were a heck of a 1-2 at the position in college football and only one of them is draft eligible this year. Mayer chose to forgo his senior season at Notre Dame and enter the NFL draft, a wise decision for a really good player.

There’s a good chance he’s the first tight end selected and he should go in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft to one lucky team.

Where could we see Mayer end up in the 2023 NFL Draft?

3. Detroit Lions (No. 18)

As a Lions fan, this kind of pains me. I think Michael Mayer is the best tight end prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft but the Lions have been burned by taking tight ends early over the years.

There was Brandon Pettigrew and then Eric Ebron and, most recently, TJ Hockenson. All of those guys showed flashes of being really good and potentially elite, but none really panned out in Detroit. But Mayer could be different (this is what every Lions fan tells themselves).

Mayer could fill that void that Hockenson left behind when the Lions traded him to the Vikings last year, and then some. He’s good enough to be the next star tight end in the NFL.

The Lions’ offense is coming together nicely and all it may need is an elite tight end to tie it all together.