Road to TE1: Trey McBride

The days of Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews being the only elite tight end options in fantasy are over. There are now five tight ends who should be in everyone’s elite tier: Kelce, Andrews, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid and Trey McBride. Even against the four other household names, McBride has a strong case to be the TE1 for fantasy in 2024.

Having one of the elite tight ends is a huge advantage over opponents since there are so few of them in the position. If you’re not getting one of the elite tight ends, it will be difficult to find any who will consistently put up fantasy points.

McBride was taken in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Like most tight ends, McBride did pretty much nothing in his rookie season. He only finished as the TE40 in PPR leagues as he spent the first half of the season serving as the backup to Zach Ertz. Even when he jumped into more of a full-time role starting in Week 10, McBride still disappointed. It was only in Weeks 15 and 17 did McBride finally show some flashes of life, finishing with four receptions for 55 yards and seven receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.

McBride still spent the first half of his breakout sophomore campaign in 2023 as a disappointment, too. However, there was a reason. The Josh Dobbs and Clayton Tune carousel for the Cardinals was not very good for McBride’s production. It wasn’t until Week 8 that McBride truly broke out, putting up 10 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown.

He had another down game in Week 9 but when Kyler Murray returned from injury in Week 10, he started his run of consistent valuable points every week. McBride ended his 2023 season with 81 catches for 825 yards and three touchdowns.

With only truly getting started in the second half of the season, McBride still finished the season as the TE7 on the year in PPR. The giant target has become a top option in the Cardinals' passing game. He has elite hands and is a huge target who can use his frame to catch in traffic, snag poor throws or tough catches with a defender draped all over him. He is a quarterback’s best friend.

How Trey McBride can level up to the overall TE1

McBride proved he has the talent to be one of the best tight ends in the NFL, but what proves that he can be the best tight end in fantasy football?

McBride is pretty much locked in to be a top-two target on the Cardinals' offense. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was drafted to be the top target for the team, but past him there is not much left on the roster for Murray to throw to, making McBride an easy choice for the second target. If anything, having Harrison to be the defense’s main focus will only help McBride.

Looking back at how McBride became a consistent fantasy producer once Kyler Murray returned in Week 10, the tight end averaged 14.9 PPG in PPR in those eight weeks to end the season. That was good for TE3 during that time only behind David Njoku and Evan Engram, who were both on similar tears to end the season. That number will only improve with a healthy Murray all season.

Murray was just coming off an ACL tear, so he wasn’t even at his true full self until about after the Week 14 bye. This will just be even more room for McBride to improve. With Murray under center, McBride averaged 8.25 targets in 2023. That would have put him third among all tight ends in targets per game in the full 2023 season.

McBride should be in for major positive touchdown regression in 2024. He finished the 2023 season with only three touchdowns, with his first one not coming until Week 8. With Murray, expect that number to grow. McBride should be a monster red zone target due to his frame and hands. His touchdown number went from three to around seven or eight touchdowns.

More than anything, McBride is a rare young talent in a barren positional field. There is no reason for him to be outside of the TE1 conversation in 2024.