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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. — The moment Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride got a step on Miami Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr. on the first play of third quarter, McBride showed why he could be considered one of the best tight ends in the league.
And it happened on National Tight Ends Day of all days.
McBride came out of a three-point stance, ran a wheel route to the left before cutting upfield, created — and kept — about three yards of separation on Long, turned completely around mid-run to catch a back-shoulder pass from Kyler Murray, finished a 360-degree turn after the catch, kept his balance on the run and then hurdled a different Dolphins defender before finally being tackled for a 37-yard gain.
It showcased McBride’s repertoire: coming off the line, running routes, catching passes and making plays after the catch.
“It kind of shows a little bit of everything,” McBride told ESPN. “I wasn’t planning on hurdling. It just kind of happened. Ran, jumped as high as I could and it worked out. I wish I wouldn’t have actually ran into the guy on the way out. I wish I wouldn’t have hit him. I probably would’ve scored.
“But, yeah, I think it shows that I can do a lot of things in the pass game, run game and just trying to make plays for this team.”
Trey McBride shows off the hops
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Sunday’s game, in which he finished with nine catches for 124 yards for his first 100-yard game of the season, encapsulated everything McBride has become in his third season: A complete, elite tight end.
“He’s not a one trick pony,” coach Jonathan Gannon said.
Through eight weeks, McBride leads the team with 42 receptions for 446 yards. To offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, it’s McBride’s versatility as a receiver and blocker coupled with his speed, balance and elusiveness that makes him “elite.” To Gannon, it’s how McBride is a three-level receiver and how he makes plays with the ball in his hands.
“He’s a big-time weapon,” Gannon said.
McBride has ascended in the last 12 months. He’s ranked in the top three among tight ends in targets (second), receptions (second), yards (third), yards per route (third), targets per route run (second), team target share (first) and receiving first downs (third).
“Trey has come a long way. He’s a guy for sure,” Murray said.
When McBride gets the ball, good things happen.
Of his 42 catches this year, 17 have been for plays of 11 yards or more. Every one of those catches, plus four others, have been for first downs. McBride’s put up All-Pro type numbers all while being the type of player that defenses game plan for.
“That’s the thing that we talk about is like, ‘OK, you’re not a secret anymore. People know who you are, you’re on the radar,'” tight ends coach Ben Steele told ESPN. “And that’s the difference between the average players and the great ones, that the great ones show up every day knowing that you’re gonna get double-teamed, you’re gonna get extra coverage and you’re gonna get different looks that you might not have seen before. So, he’s embraced that.”
Being considered among the league’s top tight ends is different for McBride, who said he’s always been an underdog and had to “work for my stripes and earn those stripes.”
McBride came into the league in 2022 when the Cardinals drafted him in the second round out of Colorado State. Arizona already had fellow tight end Zach Ertz, and McBride didn’t run more than 11 routes in a game for the first nine weeks of his rookie season. Ertz tore his ACL and MCL in Week 10 and McBride assumed his role, finishing the season with 29 receptions for 265 yards.
He was relegated back to being Ertz’s backup to start the 2023 season, averaging 10 routes per games for the first six weeks of last season. Steele kept his message to McBride the same: “Your time is going to come and just be patient.”
Ertz suffered a quad strain in Week 7 last year, giving McBride another chance to be a starter. And he ran with it. He finished the year with 825 receiving yards and three touchdowns, eclipsing 100 yards in two games.
Arizona released Ertz in November and handed the starting tight end job to McBride permanently.
“It’s funny, I get drafted, no one knows who I am and every Cardinal fan hates me because, ‘Why did we draft a tight end in the second round?’ And then three years later they all love me and I’m like the greatest thing,” McBride said. “It’s just funny how it all works.”
Part of McBride’s entry to the upper echelon of tight ends was an invitation to the Tight End University, started by former NFL tight end Greg Olsen, Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce and San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle. For a few days in late June, McBride rubbed shoulders with his peers, watching and learning how they train, work and operate. He talked with Kelce about how he runs routes and gets his releases, and got tips from him on run blocking.
When McBride returned to the Cardinals for training camp, Steele saw an added confidence.
“Being with those guys is something that I loved,” McBride said. “It was a lot of fun just to learn from some of the greatest in the game, but it’s also cool to see that those tight ends know who I am. They respect me and admire my game, as well. So, I think that’s really cool to have some respect from other tight ends around the league.”
This season has been the next step in McBride’s progression and ascension.
All of his main stats are up from a year ago. He’s averaging 63.7 yards per game, up from 48.5 last year. His 8.0 yards per target are up from 7.6 and his 7.7 air yards per target are up from 6.0. His wide open percentage — which measures how many times the separation between him and the nearest defender is five or more yards — jumped from 18.5% to 25% this year.
McBride’s also more comfortable in his role.
He’s not the young, wide-eyed rookie anymore, said Murray, who described McBride as a “damn savvy vet.” McBride feels like the game’s slowing down for him. Petzing doesn’t see McBride thinking or communicating much on the field, just reacting to what’s happening in front of him.
“He’s a beast,” Murray said. “I can’t say enough about Trey.
“I tell y’all every week I think he could be the best in the league. The athleticism, being able to block, he can do it all. He can do it all. He’s one of our best guys. We’ve got to continue to get him the rock.”