An Unexpected Debate: Is Michael Mayer the No. 1 Tight End in the 2023 NFL Draft? | Irish Sports Daily

The 2025 NFL Draft is less than three weeks away. In fact, many NFL teams are putting the final touches on their big boards and determining who they want to target in the draft. Now is the time where many NFL analysts begin getting a little more creative with their mock drafts. ESPN's Bill Barnwell did just that in a recent article

Barnwell released an article on Monday that included a trade for every single pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. In essence, this exercise can be viewed as getting a sense of the value of each pick. It also shows which teams might be interested in moving up or down the draft board come April 24th.

The Raiders are one team that finds themselves in an interesting position for making a draft-day trade.

On one hand, the Raiders are a rebuilding team that could stand to trade down and acquire more picks to accelerate their rebuild.

On the other hand, Las Vegas could make an aggressive move up the board to snag one of this year's blue-chip prospects. The Raiders know what rookie Brock Bowers accomplished in 2024 and may be tempted to go snag another player of his caliber.

But who might the Raiders be interested in trading up for?

Below we will explore Bill Barnwell's trade proposal that would send Michael Mayer to the Browns.

Bill Barnwell recommends the Raiders use Michael Mayer to trade up in 2025 NFL Draft

Dec 14, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (87) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Allegiant Stadium.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Let's dive into the terms of this trade offer before getting into any analysis.

Raiders receive: 

  • 2025 first-round pick (second overall)
  • 2027 seventh-round pick (conditional)

Browns receive: 

  • TE Michael Mayer
  • 2025 first-round pick (sixth overall)
  • 2025 second-round pick (37th overall)
  • 2026 fourth-round pick

This is quite an interesting trade proposal from Bill Barnwell.

The Raiders pay a hefty price to move up just four spots in the draft. Las Vegas could stay put and land a talented player at sixth overall. In fact, many draft analysts predict the Raiders will stay and pick Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty at sixth overall.

Barnwell believes the Raiders should happily pay that price to acquire a generational player like Travis Hunter.

“For the Raiders, this is their chance to add a transcendent player,” Barnwell wrote. “Travis Hunter is probably not making it to No. 6, and new coach Pete Carroll — a legendary defensive backs coach — has been know to defy positional value if there's a player he really loves in the secondary. (Remember, he once traded two first-round picks for Jamal Adams.)”

Barnwell further explained the rationale for targeting a player like Hunter. He also explained how the conditional pick in this trade could work.

“Hunter would be an immediate hit at cornerback, and I'm sure Carroll would have few qualms about putting Hunter at wide receiver as well,” Barnwell added. “Las Vegas would also land a conditional pick that could turn into a fourth-rounder in 2027 if Mayer, who was drafted two regimes ago, racks up 600 receiving yards over the next two seasons in Cleveland.”

Travis Hunter is a truly special player. He is an incredibly rare two-way player who can play both offense and defense. Hunter is an incredible wide receiver, but he is an even better cornerback.

Hunter played on both sides of the ball during his collegiate career at Colorado. This versatility is one of reason why he is so coveted by most NFL teams.

As Barnwell explained, the Raiders could start Hunter as a cornerback and sprinkle him in on the offensive side of the ball from time to time. This is how many NFL draft experts expect any team would use Hunter at the professional level.

The Raiders have Eric Stokes, Jakorian Bennett, and Decamerion Richardson as their top cornerbacks heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. Adding a lockdown cornerback like Hunter would be a great move. It would look even better when Hunter contributes as a receiver on offense.

Meanwhile, from the Browns perspective, they have plenty to be excited about from this trade.

Cleveland is in a desperate state after the Deshaun Watson trade was a complete failure. Adding a talented player like Mayer and two additional draft picks is a great haul, especially for only moving down four picks.

At worst, the Browns can kick the tires on Mayer for a few seasons and add more players on cheap contracts in preparation for their eventual tear down and rebuild.

Kudos to Bill Barnwell on coming up with such a good win-win trade scenario.