Michael Mayer gives himself Travis Kelce comparison at NFL Combine

NFL fans and draft analysts love using player comparisons to get an idea of ​​what a player might look like at the next level. Michael Mayer has come up with his own comp, and it’s a sublime one.

When asked about it during Friday’s media session at the NFL Combine, the Notre Dame tight end said he had the guy at the top of the NFL in mind.

“Got to take 87 more, man, Travis Kelce,” Mayer said. “The way he drives his routes, the way he does his thing, is like no other. He’s adding a lot to the tight end game and that’s why I need to get started with trav, met him last summer, great guy and just to see him, watch the movie about him, see him play his game, he’s great in the tight end and he does amazing things for the tight end as well.

MORE: Where will Michael Mayer end up in the 2023 NFL Draft?

Mayer will test at the combine on Saturday, but the player widely expected to become the first tight end off the board has already set his sights on being compared to the NFL’s best tight end. And given his college success, it’s easy to see why he thinks so highly of his game.

Mayer was a three-year starter at South Bend, Indiana, and hauled in at least 40 passes each season, surpassing 67 in both his sophomore and junior years. As a sophomore, he caught 71 passes for 840 yards and seven touchdowns and built on that success as a junior, although he had more target on his back as he caught 67 passes for 809 yards and nine touchdowns. He was a consensus All-American in 2022.

There’s plenty of reason to see Kelce as a comp for Mayer, even if it’s a bit high before he’s played an NFL snap. Kelce checks in at 6-5,256 while Mayer comes in at 6-4,265. In his senior year in Cincinnati, Kelce caught 45 passes for 722 yards and eight touchdowns to jump into the NFL Draft Picture. Their play style is also similar as both are effective blockers that are excellent route runners and weapons in the passing game.

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By the time he left high school, however, Mayer had a little more hype. He was a five-star contender by 247Sports Composite Rankings and was listed as the No. 32 recruit in the 2020 class. Kelce was a two-star contender, taking 1.583 in 2008. Place.

Both also share ties to the Queen City. Kelce, who grew up in Cleveland Heights, attended college in Cincinnati while Mayer, a native of Independence, Kentucky, attended high school in Covington Catholic, located across the Ohio River in Cincinnati.

Mayer may have some similarities to Kelce, but he probably won’t have the same uniform as him. He’s all but guaranteed to go in the first round, and the Chiefs, with Kelce already anchored at tight end, are unlikely to spend their 31-ranked pick on a tight end. But Mayer didn’t rule out going a few picks via the Chiefs to the Bengals, who have become a rival to Kelce’s roster and would see him return to his hometown team.

“It would be great. Joe Burrow throwing me this ballman look, he’s a national champion, he led his team to the Super Bowl,” Mayer said. “Obviously I’m trying to win ball games, man, I’m trying to get into the NFL. I’m trying to win ball games and win a Super Bowl. So yeah, I definitely want to be in a good position to be able to have a good quarterback throwing my way, to be able to win some Super Bowls and things like that. Growing up 15 minutes from Who Dey Stadium man it would be awesome, no doubt about it.