Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of the jersey of Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PFF: Arizona Cardinals Star is Top Fantasy Football TE

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 6:34 PM ET

After bursting on the scene in 2024, Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride has established himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

McBride earned Pro Bowl honors for his performance and was awarded with a hefty four-year, $76 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid player ever at his position.

How McBride builds off such a successful season remains to be seen, though according to Pro Football Focus, he's the No. 1 fantasy football option for the position.

Pro Football Focus: Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride is Top Fantasy Player

McBride was in the first tier of tight ends alongside Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers.

After diving into Bowers, PFF's Jonathon Macri offered this on McBride:

"Trey McBride offers just as much fantasy potential heading into 2025, though he comes at a slightly better value going near the end of Round 2 at the moment compared to Bowers at the top of the second. McBride comes out of 2024 with a position-leading 25.9% target rate and 2.14 yards per route run.

"McBride also earned 21 targets in the red zone (second-most among tight ends) yet came away with just two touchdowns on the year – a number bound to positively regress in a big way in 2025 and allow him to improve on his 15.0 points per game, which trailed Bowers by just a half-point per game."

The touchdown production (or lack thereof) was basically the only drawback to McBride's play in 2024, though with the amount of opportunity McBride will have, it feels likely he'll be in the end zone more frequently.

When speaking on Arizona Sports' Burns and Gambo recently, McBride says the massive extension hasn't really changed him.

“Obviously gives me some security, but honestly, I feel like the same person,” McBride said. “I have to prove myself again. I feel like everything I did last year doesn’t really matter, and I got to kind of prove myself again, and do it all over again … I feel like there’s still a lot to prove.”

He also added, "I think it was great that I had the title at one point and that was obviously a huge milestone for me and everything just to be the highest paid at my position at the time, and I thought that was really cool."

It feels like a safe bet McBride will produce to similar numbers again, at least in the fantasy football realm.