Michael Mayer’s first NFL catch Sunday didn’t look like much on paper. It was a 2-yard reception in a 28-point loss in Buffalo, but it was a tough grab on the sideline where he blocked out All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano and plucked the ball with his hands.
And hopefully for the Las Vegas Raiders, it was the start of something big.
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The Raiders drafted Mayer in the second round this year and are planning on seeing a great deal more catches like that — especially in the red zone, as they have only three touchdowns in two games. It’s something Mayer has prepared for his whole life and he welcomes the challenge and responsibility.
“I want to be an impact player,” he said recently. “That’s one of the reasons they drafted me here.”
Growing up in Covington, Ky., Mayer heard stories of his grandfather, Dick Maile, being drafted into the NBA. And then he watched his older cousin, Luke Maile, star in baseball at the University of Kentucky and go on to play Major League Baseball. Maile, a backup catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, is in his ninth year in the big leagues.
And now the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Mayer is a professional athlete.
“It’s a beautiful feeling,” Mayer said. “This is what I dreamed of as a kid.”
Luke Maile, 32, is 10 years older than Mayer, who made his cousin’s sports schedule at Covington Catholic High his schedule.
“He was playing baseball at CovCath and I went to all his games,” Mayer said. “He played basketball too and I went to all his games. And then he went on to play at UK, and it was only an hour’s drive to UK. I would go see him catch and hit home runs, and now he is playing for the Reds, and that is only 15 minutes from my hometown. Which is awesome.”
Luke Maile has enjoyed a nine-year big-league career as a backup catcher. (Charles LeClaire / USA Today)There was always a basketball hoop at the family get-togethers growing up, and Maile said, “There was never any holding back.”
“We came from a big, extended family and went to the same schools,” Maile said. “Everybody is very tight-knit and we spent a lot of time together.”
Everyone plays basketball growing up in Kentucky, and Mayer and Maile were no different. Especially when their grandfather was a local legend.
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Dick Maile was LSU’s leading scorer all three seasons he played for the Tigers and he still ranks in the school’s top 10 in points per game (17.4) and rebounds per game (10.4). He was an 11th-round pick of the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals in 1965.
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That makes Mayer the third member of his family to be drafted by a professional sports league — and each one in a different sport. Mayer is close to both of them, especially his grandfather.
“I was getting recruited by LSU and my Pa Pa said we should take a visit down there,” Mayer said. “And that was very cool. He was my coach in basketball — fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade.”
The two lived close to each other and talked sports all the time.
“He is a very holy guy and what he always says is ‘God’s always got you’ and the way that he acts on a daily basis is the way that I want to act,” Mayer said.
Mayer also often texts with his cousin, who has helped with his transition from college to the pros.
“He has kind of helped me out with being a rookie,” Mayer said. “‘What do you need to do? What does it take?’ He was in my shoes at one point. I know it’s different and he was in the minor leagues, but he’s been helping me tremendously through that. I’ve got a great family.”
Mayer also leaned on Maile during the college recruiting process, with Mayer ultimately deciding on Notre Dame.
“We both have pretty reserved personalities, and we don’t get wowed by a whole lot of stuff,” Maile said. “I knew that he had an interest in playing football at the college level, and I am sure he wanted his recruiting process to go as well for him as it did for me. It’s different sports, but we always had a mutual respect from afar.
“It’s cool now that it’s come full circle and we’re both professionals. I did try to be a good role model, not just for him but my entire family.”
Michael Mayer has been able to lean on his older cousin Luke Maile as he transitions to a professional career. (Tim Heitman / USA Today)While football was Mayer’s fallback sport after basketball, Maile enjoyed playing basketball, baseball and golf more than football.
“If it involved any sort of athletics, we were involved in it,” Maile said.
Maile would follow Mayer’s high school career from afar.
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“He was an unbelievable basketball player,” Maile said. “As soon as he started growing into his body a little bit, he was massive and he could jump and he could run. He could shoot a little bit. It was pretty clear that he was the athletic specimen in our area in pretty much everything he did.
“If he got the ball facing the post from 12 to 15 feet out, it was over. In football, he played tight end and defensive end and was involved in just about every play for four quarters.”
Maile’s career has spanned eight seasons in the major leagues (he missed the 2020 season due to injury) and the Reds are his fifth team after being drafted in the eighth round by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012. He is hitting .228 with five home runs in 167 at-bats, but this season might be his favorite one.
“It’s been a treat,” he said before a Reds game against the San Francisco Giants last month. “Exciting to play by my hometown. I have two little girls now and they’re able to see my sister’s kids and my parents. They’re having a year of their childhood that’s pretty similar to what I went through as a kid. That’s been a joy, plus we have had some success on the field with a young, talented team.”
As for Mayer, he had a rough introduction to the NFL from teammate Maxx Crosby and has continued to learn something every day.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said he is working with Mayer on the “intricacies” of Josh McDaniels’ offense. It’s much more complicated than just getting open at Notre Dame.
“The tight end in this offense, there’s a lot of little nuances that go unnoticed,” Garoppolo said. “Going back to Rob Gronkowski — Gronk was awesome at it. He knew the plays, he knew what we were trying to do. And I think Mike, along with the other tight ends, they’re all kind of learning that. Once they get that down, we’ll be in a good spot. And I think he’s done a great job so far.”
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And, for all rookies, the adjustment to the speed of the NFL is not just a cliche.
“The speed of the game just changes,” McDaniels said. “You can see it on film, but then when you get into a regular-season game as a rookie for the very first time, you just sense a different tempo.”
Said Mayer: “It’s definitely different, but it’s something you have to get used to and I am just going to keep getting used to it.”
It’s been well documented that Mayer wasn’t the fastest tight end prospect, but his strengths will play.
“I use my big body very well,” he said. “I can get into guys, I can burst off of guys, I can understand their movements. I can understand, ‘Is he going to have outside leverage here, inside leverage? What do I need to do?’ … There’s multiple things I can work on. Getting out of breaks faster, being faster in terms of stems and vertical push, and things like that. Having better hands.”
Mayer is learning from teammate and veteran tight end Austin Hooper as well.
“He has taken me under his wing,” Mayer said. “He is a very savvy route runner, and that’s something I can take a lot from. He is a little bit faster than me, but I love the way he runs his routes, I love the way that he shimmies defenders sometimes. That’s something we’ve been working on after practice.”
And we haven’t even talked about his blocking game, which is raw and also a work in progress.
“I am getting better, getting more confident and feeling pretty good,” he said.
(Top photo: Matt Durisko / Associated Press)
“The Football 100,” the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Preorder it here.
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