How High are Expectations for Michael Mayer?

Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Michael Mayer was a star at Notre Dame and expectations could be high for his first NFL season.

The Las Vegas Raiders took a big swing when they traded up in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft to select Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer.

Mayer was a star with the Fighting Irish, setting tight end records across the board. This is impressive, considering the lineage of tight ends that have come out of Notre Dame.

Mayer finished his college career with the Fighting Irish with 180 catches for 2,099 yards and 18 touchdowns, all of which are Notre Dame records among tight ends.

Now, Mayer joins the Silver and Black as the only tight end on the roster signed to a long-term contract. Austin Hooper, O.J. Howard, and Jesper Horsted are all on one-year contracts.

For this reason, Mayer can be viewed as the Raiders’ tight end of the future. General Manager Dave Ziegler has said he thinks Mayer has the skill set to contribute in year one.

With all the accolades he earned in college and the value at which the Raiders selected him, the expectations for Mayer are understandably high. Let’s put those expectations into perspective.

While Mayer was considered an elite tight end prospect, it is one of the hardest positions to produce at immediately. Some prospects take a while to develop into consistent pass catchers at the professional level.

What plays into Mayer’s favor is the fact that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo loves throwing to his tight ends, so if Mayer ends up earning the most snaps at tight end, should see a considerable amount of targets come his way.

Mayer could benefit from the Raiders running more two tight end sets. The Raiders only ran 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) 18 percent of the time, and 22 personnel (two running backs, two tight ends) six percent of the time. Having another tight end on the field with Mayer could open up more possibilities for the offense.

Overall, when considering the expectations for Mayer going into the 2023 season, it’s tough to predict what his immediate impact will look like. However, there is no question that he has the skill set to reach his long-term ceiling as a fixture of the Raiders’ offense in the future.

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