While the rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. is the talk of the town for the Arizona Cardinals, their best weapon early in the year could be tight end Trey McBride. After leading them in receiving yards and catches, the 24-year-old was one of the lone bright spots on offense.
The third-year tight end broke out in his second season as a pro, as he was sixth in catches among all tight ends, seventh in yards among all tight ends, and had three touchdowns in 2023. McBride is part of the new wave of young pass catchers at the position, along with rookie phenom Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions.
With another year underway, will McBride be the focal point of the new-look Arizona offense for the Cardinals in 2024?
Trey McBride 2023 Stats and Fantasy Production
Despite not having quarterback Kyler Murray for half the year, Trey McBride was the move-the-chains safety blanket for the Cardinal’s offense for most of the season. The former second-round pick from 2022 was mostly a backup his rookie season, with the situation for the Arizona offense not fruitful for a young pass catcher to thrive.
It often takes more than a season for rookie tight ends to acclimate to the league. Even as a former John Mackey Award winner and Unanimous All-American in 2021 coming out of Colorado State, McBride didn’t make the leap till this past year as a star tight end.
The Cardinals tight end had 81 catches for 825 yards behind Zach Ertz early in the season before the veteran was jettisoned before the NFL trade deadline after Week 7. The 6’4″ and 246-pound difference maker has rare movement skills, route running for his size, and receiving ability at the position.
According to FantasyPros, McBride was the third-ranked tight end in full PPR in fantasy football from Weeks 8 to the end of the season, as he officially made his start for Arizona around the midpoint of the year. Counting the whole season, he finished as the tight end seven in full PPR despite starting only 12 games, according to FantasyPros.
Trey McBride 2024 Fantasy Outlook
The top pass catcher for the Arizona Cardinals is Trey McBride, although rookie sensation Harrison Jr. is their best wide receiver on the roster. With him, Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, and recently signed Zay Jones, Murray will have weapons to throw to along with the tight end.
Although it is not a great unit on paper, it is a young developing group and McBride will likely challenge Harrison Jr. in targets and yards. Close to 1,000 yards and more than five touchdowns could be a potential stat line McBride has at the end of the 2024 season if he can stay healthy.
For fantasy drafts currently, he is usually drafted in the top three at the position, right behind the league’s best Travis Kelce and LaPorta. However, with different flavors of tight end, he could be more of a top-five or later tight end in terms of ranking them.
McBride is in the mix with Mark Andrews, Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, George Kittle, Kyle Pitts, and David Njoku. His ADP is 53rd but has the best strength of schedule out of all tight ends as a 4th or 5th-round selection, according to FantasyPros.
Final Thoughts on Trey McBride
Trey McBride’s involvement in the Cardinal’s offense with Murray, along with the lack of competition besides the rookie receiver and maybe James Connor at running back, is enticing.
This is especially the case for PPR, as targets can be funneled in his direction in the middle of the field.
Trey McBride had eight weeks getting double-digit fantasy points while hitting over the 20-point mark four times in 2023 at the back half of the year. Even with the lack of touchdowns last year, that number should go up as a staple for the Arizona offense and the catches give you a stable floor, along with the boom upside.
McBride has the athletic profile, with the collegiate production, to back up his case why the Cardinals tight end can be a superstar heading into the 2024 NFL season.
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