McBride an honorable-mention player last offseason. Now, coaches, scouts and execs rank him as a top-5 TE.

Arizona Cardinals fans know how good tight end Trey McBride. After all, he did catch 111 passes last season. He broke his own receptions record for a single season as a tight end and came close to setting the franchise single-season record period (DeAndre Hopkins’ 115 catches in 2020 set the mark).

But how good does the league think he is?

He made his first Pro Bowl this past season.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler polled coaches, scouts and executives about who they believe are the top 10 players at each position.

Let’s see where McBride lands.

NFL TE rankings: Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

McBride is fourth in the top 10, behind Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, San Francisco’s George Kittle and Detroit’s Sam LaPorta. He received at least one vote as the No. 1 tight end and was in the top 10 in every ballot.

“Best receiving tight end out there,” an NFL coordinator said. “He’s a hard cover even for elite corners.”

McBride’s jump from last year’s honorable mention status to the top four is sizable, but he was the only tight end not named Kittle or Bowers to receive a first-place vote.

“Lack of touchdowns hurts him a bit for me if we’re talking about top-five guys,” an NFL personnel director said about McBride, who has six total touchdowns in three seasons.

McBride actually has more than six total touchdowns. He has six receiving touchdowns. He rushed for a touchdown last season and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown as well, so he has scored eight total in his career.

Now, those eight career total touchdowns equal Kittle’s touchdown receptions in 2024, but Bowers had only five touchdowns last season, compared to McBride’s four total scores.

Does McBride need to score more touchdowns? Yes. Last season, on several end-zone targets, Murray either missed him or McBride didn’t make a catch he would expect himself to make. That was fluky. Now, considering the strength of the Cardinals’ running game and the presence of Marvin Harrison Jr., we might not see McBride get double-digit scores, but that is really the next step for him.

He is an elite pass-catching tight end. He is a capable blocker. If he scores touchdowns, that takes him to the next level.

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