The 2023 NFL Draft is vastly approaching and teams are beginning to zero in on who they will be selected later in the month. Tight end-needy teams will have two top options to choose from in Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid. Sportsbooks have begun dropping lines on all NFL Draft odds & props, and when zeroing in on the tight ends group, the Kincaid & Mayer odds show it is a close call between the two elite pass-catchers.
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NFL Draft Odds: Michael Mayer & Dalton Kincaid Lead the Way Foe TE’s
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Mayer (-135) is a slight favorite to be the first tight end taken off the board over Kincaid (+105). There is a stark drop-off behind them, with no one having better than +1000 odds.
Draft experts differ on where Mayer and Kincaid fall within the draft. Some think it is entirely possible that both get selected in the first round. While others (including PFF's analytics team) do not believe a tight end will be selected in the first round.
Mayer joins a long list of Notre Dame tight ends who have gone on to the NFL. But perhaps he is the best prospect of them all. Checking in a 6-foot 4 inches and 265 pounds, Mayer dominated the competition throughout his three seasons in South Bend, finishing runner-up to Georgia's Brock Bowers in the Mackey Award voting -- presented to the nation's best tight end.
Still, Mayer was the most dominant player on the Irish's offense all season long, winning the team's MVP Award, catching 67 passes for 809 yards and a team-record nine touchdowns during the 2022 season. ESPN draft expert Matt Miller thinks Mayer's versatility will ultimately catapult him into the first round.
"I do think he's a sure-fire first-rounder," Miller said, per ABC Cincinnati. "The all-around game he brings. A little bit of a throwback with the toughness, the blocking. But, he's a fantastic tight end for sure."
If Michael Mayer is more of an old-school classic tight-end type, Dalton Kincaid represents the new school. The Utah tight end showed his versatility throughout the 2022 season, using his athleticism to line up all over the field in different formations. He caught 70 passes for 890 yards and eight touchdowns during his senior season.
Kincaid's 6-foot 3 inches height makes him less of a blocking weapon than Mayer, but his ability to fill in a variety of different roles may make him intriguing for an offense looking for a Swiss Army knife in their offense.
The latest NFL Draft odds show Michael Mayer as a slight favorite to become the first tight end selected, but Dalton Kincaid is picking up some steam in the conversation just before the event.
