Trey McBride was a force for the Arizona Cardinals after taking over starting tight end duties midway through last season.
Despite seeing no more than three targets in all but two of the first seven games of the season, McBride still came away with 825 yards and three touchdowns on 81 catches through 17 games (12 starts). Seeing at least six targets from Week 8 on can do wonders for a stat line.
Most of that production — 66 receptions for 655 yards and three scores — came in the final 10 games of the year when the starting role was firmly in his grasp. He’s bringing even more confidence into the season after attending Tight End University and further connecting with quarterback Kyler Murray this offseason.
But while McBride ended up seventh among NFL tight ends in receiving yards and sixth in receptions, an ESPN poll of executives, scouts and players compiled by Jeremy Fowler still has the young pass catcher outside of the top-10 tight ends heading into 2024.
Those honors instead belong to:
1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
3. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
5. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
6. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
7. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
9. Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Where did Trey McBride rank in ESPN’s poll?
Among the five honorable mentions is where you’ll find McBride, whom one unnamed team executive believes has a higher ceiling than others ranked above him.
McBride had one drop on 108 targets, which is impressive for a second-year player. Of his 81 catches, 42 went for a first down, fifth among tight ends. “We were really high on him coming up,” a team executive said. “He does a lot of things really well. Run after catch, good in the red zone, has a higher upside than many of the guys ahead of him. [He’s] more of a pass-game tight end but a competitive blocker.”
McBride’s fellow honorable-mention mates include:
– Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
– Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
– Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
– Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Is Trey McBride’s top-10 snub warranted?
The top 5 in ESPN’s TE ranking is strong. But drop down into the 6-10 range and an argument could be made when looking at Kincaid and Schultz.
Kincaid flashed as a rookie behind 73 catches for 673 yards and two touchdowns. There’s change afoot in Buffalo, though, with a new offensive coordinator and some roster turnover highlighted by Stefon Diggs’ departure to Houston. Just how much do those factors impact Kincaid’s production moving forward?
Speaking of the Texans and their acquisition of Diggs, Schultz has even more competition for targets. That’s before mentioning breakout WR Nico Collins and the explosive Tank Dell, too.
That’s not to say McBride won’t have competition for targets on his end.
Arizona had a much-needed revamp at pass catcher this offseason. It accomplished that with the additions of Marvin Harrison Jr. (NFL Draft) and Zay Jones (free agency), while letting Hollywood Brown walk and dealing Rondale Moore to Atlanta.
But from a Cardinals tight end perspective, there’s no one better poised to make a jump than McBride.
“To me, he’s a complete tight end,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said during Week 11 of last year. “He’s worked really hard over the past couple months to be that guy, to put himself in that position. Certainly, in the pass game, the size, the speed, the length, the hands, you saw it all on display on Sunday.
“But really for us, it’s something we’ve seen in terms of his game in general, in all areas — run blocking, pass protection, effort. Really pleased with the way he’s playing.”
How can the Cardinals better utilize Trey McBride in 2024?
One way the Cardinals could up McBride’s usage this year is through play action.
McBride unsurprisingly saw the bulk of his stats come out of non-play-action situations — 54 catches for 482 yards and three touchdowns. But operating out of play-action sets, McBride not only stretched the field (12.7 yards per catch) behind 27 catches for 343 yards, he saw deeper looks at nine yards per target.
And despite the target discrepancy between the two stat lines, McBride finished with just four fewer first downs (19) in play action than out of it (23).
It’s clear the Cardinals are determined to run the rock under offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. That along with McBride’s continued growth with Murray should open up the window for even more opportunities to deceive the defense this season.
