Michael Mayer or Dalton Kincaid? Joel Klatt gives his pick for best TE prospect in 2023 Draft class

Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid enter the 2023 NFL Draft as some of the best prospects at the tight end position. Both had strong careers at Notre Dame and Utah, respectively and are likely to become first-round picks next week.

In a recent episode of his podcast, Joel Klatt addressed where he ranks those two among his list of top prospects for the draft. While Klatt has Kincaid making a move up his list, he doesn’t have the Ute star jumping ahead of Mayer.

“Why has (Dalton Kincaid) jumped up? Okay, he’s jumped up the board because he got some good medical information where they said ‘Hey, listen, his back is going to be fine. He’s a full go,'” explained Klatt. “I think because of that he’s going to move up but he could not move up past the guy who I like most at the TE position and that’s Michael Mayer, the TE from Notre Dame.”

Klatt went on to rank Mayer as the 15th overall prospect in the NFL Draft on his list. He went on to explain Mayer has the total package teams look for at the TE position and produced significant numbers despite being the focal point of the Irish offense last season.

“(Notre Dame) had real offensive issues. Not quite to the level that Iowa did, but real offensive issues due to QB injuries, and this guy was the focal point of what defenses were trying to stop and he still produced,” said Klatt. “He is a great leader, he’s the type of guy you absolutely want in your locker room, he catches it really well, he’s a fluid player, he’s a good blocker at the point of attack… He’s everything that you want in an NFL TE.”

Draft outlook for Michael Mayer

Last season, Mayer had 809 receiving yards with 9 receiving touchdowns for Notre Dame. He finished his career with 2,099 yards receiving and 18 receiving touchdowns across 3 seasons.

Even as the top TE prospect, there is no guarantee Mayer comes off the board early in the draft. His landing spot will be more based on team need, but Mayer should find a great spot to contribute early in his NFL career.