Michael Mayer has declared for the 2023 NFL draft and will skip Notre Dame's Gator Bowl appearance against South Carolina.

Mayer is the top rated tight end in the class and No. 8 overall on ESPN's Big Board.

"I've really enjoyed my experience at Notre Dame," Mayer told ESPN. "The first reason I picked Notre Dame was the NFL, it was on my mind a very, very long time. I saw a lot of good tight ends in in the NFL from Notre Dame. That was one of the main reasons I went there."

Mayer got the nickname "Baby Gronk" as a Notre Dame freshman. Mayer said he studies Travis Kelce more than Rob Gronkowski. 

Sean Payton believes major changes could be coming to the NFL Draft in the near future.

In an interview with Colin Cowherd, the former New Orleans Saints coach predicted that the league will eventually move to a lottery system where the worst team isn't guaranteed the No. 1 overall pick.

"At some point, we're going to move to a lottery system in the NFL," Payton said.