Although he did not become the Arizona Cardinals’ regular starting tight end until midway through the 2023 NFL season, Trey McBride produced enough that he is now considered among the elite fantasy football options at his position heading into this season.
Here’s the fantasy outlook for McBride entering the 2024 season.
Trey McBride’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
As mentioned, McBride became the Cardinals’ tight end for good in Week 8 last season. And over those final 10 games, McBride put up outstanding numbers for his position.
McBride caught 66 passes for 655 yards and three touchdowns. Averaged over a full 17-game season, those numbers are equal to 112 receptions, 1,114 receiving yards, and five touchdowns.
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For fantasy managers, averaging 15.0 fantasy points per game (PPG) over those final 10 games are probably what looks most appealing when it comes to deciding which tight end to draft. To put that fantasy PPG mark in perspective, consider that the top two tight ends in fantasy PPG last season — Travis Kelce and T.J. Hockenson — averaged 14.6 fantasy PPG.
McBride was targeted 85 times over that 10-game span; projected over a full season, that comes to 144 targets in 17 games. If McBride maintains his 78% catch percentage, the potential for a significantly productive season awaits him in Year 3.
Is McBride a Good Fantasy Pick?
McBride is the TE4 in Pro Football Network’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings as of Aug. 19. Considering how he performed over the final 10 games of the season for the Cardinals, this ranking appears to be very worthy.
The Cardinals have all the makings of a solid offensive unit for this season, particularly at the skill positions. James Conner is steady as a running back, quarterback Kyler Murray should be completely healthy heading into the season, and they have high expectations for their rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
McBride seems to be in a position to be productive without being the key element in Arizona’s offense. That can only benefit the Cardinals, but fantasy managers who want solid fantasy numbers from that position will not do much better than McBride.
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Those who like McBride as their tight end will no doubt be keeping an eye on Murray as well. Last season, McBride averaged 14.8 fantasy points in games when Murray was the quarterback but just 7.0 in games when he wasn’t the QB.
Assuming Harrison is close to the real deal at wide receiver, he will likely receive the most attention and targets. But after that, McBride probably will be Murray’s second most important target for this season.
Will that take some of the production away from McBride? Perhaps. But there is also no question he is one of the feature players in a Cardinals offense loaded with potential.