Iowa’s Sam LaPorta, Georgia’s Brock Bowers, and Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer were the three finalists for the John Mackey Award. The award is presented annually by the friends of John Mackey and goes to the nation’s most outstanding tight end.
Michael Mayer, ND:
Projection: 1st Rd
TE Rank: #1
Mayer had 67 Receptions for 809 Yards this regular season and found the endzone 9 times.
He’s the #1 tight end on almost every single Big Board and is projected to be selected in the top 15 of this year’s draft.
The Notre Dame standout stands at a solid 6’4 265 and has been clocked running the 40-Yard Dash at 4.65 seconds.
The 21 y/o is expected to start day one in the NFL, hoping to make a big impact wherever he goes.
Brock Bowers, UGA (WINNER):
Projection: N/A
TE Rank: N/A
Bowers, as a Sophomore, hauled in 46 receptions taking them for 645 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Georgia has three of the nation’s Top-15 TEs with Bowers, Darnell Washington, and Arik Gilbert. Even though Washington and Gilbert are the #2 and #6 TEs, respectfully, in this year’s draft, Bowers is probably the best among them.
The UGA star averaged a whopping 14.0 YPC and had 6 rushing attempts that went for 93 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The 19 y/o stands at 6’4 230lbs and is expected to have a spectacular Junior season as he is not yet eligible for the NFL Draft.
Sam LaPorta, IOWA
Projection: 3rd Rd
TE Rank: #4
The Iowa Senior is arguably the best tight end in the Big Ten.
In a run-heavy Hawkeyes offense, LaPorta has seen a healthy 53 receptions for 601 yards, but only found the endzone one time in his 2022 campaign.
Standing at around 6’4 250lbs, the 21 y/o is expected to get a ton of draft looks because of how raw of an athlete he is. He has talented hands and great strength but needs to develop the blocking aspect of his game.
He gets beat off the edge and requires a lot of work in run blocking. The good news is that these are all very fixable issues.
Overall, he is a very athletic tight end with a high catch radius with a willingness to learn. He converts first downs at a high rate and will be utilized in a more pass-heavy type of offense.
