
Tight end, Notre Dame, 2020–22
Michael Mayer
- Number
- No. 87
- Height
- 6′4″
- Weight
- 265 lb
- Class (2022)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Independence, KY
- Born
- Jul 6, 2001, in Independence, Kentucky
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Michael Mayer played tight end at Notre Dame (2020–22). He was a consensus All‑American in 2022. The Las Vegas Raiders took Mayer in round 2, No. 35 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
11catches, career highvs. BYU, 2022120receiving yards, career highat Florida State, 20212receiving touchdowns, career highfour times; last at USC, 2022Honors
Receiving
| Season | Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 42 | 450 | 10.7 | 2 | 29 |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 71 | 840 | 11.8 | 7 | 52 |
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 67 | 809 | 12.1 | 9 | 37 |
| Career | 180 | 2,099 | 11.7 | 18 | 52 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 87 | TE | Fr. | ||
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 87 | TE | So. | ||
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 87 | TE | Jr. | 6′4″ | 265 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 56 | 0.72 | 75th (n=346) | 0.55 | 40.6 | 7% |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 94 | 0.63 | 45th (n=410) | 0.67 | 59.3 | 11% |
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 80 | 0.79 | 61st (n=683) | 0.71 | 62.8 | 10% |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2022 Notre Dame 12 games, 67 catches, 809 yards, 9 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | at | L 10–21 | 5 | 32 | 0 | 17 |
| Sep 10 | vs. | L 21–26 | 8 | 103 | 1 | 30 |
| Sep 17 | vs. | W 24–17 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 6 |
| Sep 24 | at | W 45–32 | 7 | 88 | 1 | 20 |
| Oct 8 | vs. | W 28–20 | 11 | 118 | 2 | 24 |
| Oct 15 | vs. | L 14–16 | 5 | 60 | 0 | 21 |
| Oct 22 | vs. | W 44–21 | 6 | 115 | 1 | 34 |
| Oct 29 | at | W 41–24 | 3 | 54 | 0 | 37 |
| Nov 5 | vs. | W 35–14 | 4 | 44 | 1 | 17 |
| Nov 12 | vs. | W 35–32 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 14 |
| Nov 19 | vs. | W 44–0 | 5 | 64 | 0 | 23 |
| Nov 26 | at | L 27–38 | 8 | 98 | 2 | 24 |
2021 Notre Dame 12 games, 71 catches, 840 yards, 7 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at | W 41–38 | 9 | 120 | 1 | 41 |
| Sep 11 | vs. | W 32–29 | 7 | 81 | 2 | 28 |
| Sep 18 | vs. | W 27–13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 25 | vs. | W 41–13 | 7 | 61 | 0 | 22 |
| Oct 2 | vs. | L 13–24 | 8 | 93 | 0 | 20 |
| Oct 23 | vs. | W 31–16 | 5 | 54 | 0 | 16 |
| Oct 30 | vs. | W 44–34 | 4 | 51 | 0 | 30 |
| Nov 6 | vs. | W 34–6 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 14 |
| Nov 13 | at | W 28–3 | 7 | 84 | 1 | 22 |
| Nov 20 | vs. | W 55–0 | 3 | 86 | 1 | 52 |
| Nov 27 | at | W 45–14 | 9 | 105 | 0 | 34 |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. | L 35–37 | 7 | 72 | 2 | 19 |
2020 Notre Dame 12 games, 42 catches, 450 yards, 2 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | vs. | W 27–13 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 17 |
| Sep 19 | vs. | W 52–0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Oct 10 | vs. | W 42–26 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 17 |
| Oct 17 | vs. | W 12–7 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Oct 24 | at | W 45–3 | 5 | 73 | 1 | 23 |
| Oct 31 | at | W 31–13 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 7 |
| Nov 7 | vs. | W 47–40 | 5 | 67 | 0 | 29 |
| Nov 14 | at | W 45–31 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Nov 27 | at | W 31–17 | 4 | 54 | 0 | 16 |
| Dec 5 | vs. | W 45–21 | 5 | 36 | 0 | 20 |
| Dec 19 | vs. | L 10–34 | 5 | 51 | 0 | 15 |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. | L 14–31 | 7 | 62 | 0 | 18 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2023 | Combine or pro day 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6′4½″ | |
| Weight | 249 lb | |
| Arm length | 31⅝″ | |
| Hand size | 9½″ | |
| Wingspan | 76¼″W | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.70 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.66 s | |
| Vertical jump | 32½″ | |
| Broad jump | 9′10″ | |
| Bench press | 21 reps | |
| 3-cone drill | 7.26 s | |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.44 s |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
4 seasons, 42 games with a stat; latest team: Las Vegas Raiders.
| Season | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Las Vegas Raiders | 13 | 27 | 304 | 2 |
| 2024 | Las Vegas Raiders | 11 | 21 | 156 | 0 |
| 2025 | Las Vegas Raiders | 13 | 35 | 328 | 1 |
| 2026 (so far) | Las Vegas Raiders | 5 | 21 | 171 | 1 |
| NFL career | 42 | 104 | 959 | 4 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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