Arizona Cardinals Awards: Most Valuable Player

The Arizona Cardinals' star tight end was the most valuable member of the 2024 Arizona Cardinals.
Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) hurdles San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas (20) during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) hurdles San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas (20) during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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As our series handing out Arizona Cardinals postseason awards draws to a close, there's little question surrounding which member of the 2024 team was most valuable on either side of the ball.

While running back James Conner certainly had an excellent season in a run-first offense, and an argument could be made in his favor, no offensive player truly stood out the way tight end Trey McBride did this past season.

McBride is a burgeoning superstar in the NFL, and takes home Arizona Cardinals On SI's MVP award in strong fashion.

To read our picks for other awards, you can click on the links below:
Offensive Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Comeback Player of the Year
Coach of the Year

The 25-year-old stud out of Colorado State finally saw a full season's worth of starts, and he capitalized in an unprecedented manner. No tight end in Cardinals (recent) history has been able to do what McBride has done in his young career.

McBride started 16 of 17 games, but still led all Cardinals pass-catchers in receptions by a massive margin. In fact, he nearly doubled the next closest receiver, catching 111 passes, the most by a Cardinals tight end in a season by 30.

Marvin Harrison Jr. was the next most prolific pass-catcher, with just 62 receptions.

McBride picked up 1,146 receiving yards. He averaged 10.3 yards per reception, and 71.6 yards per game. He's the first Cardinals tight end to record a 1,000-yard season since Jackie Smith did so nearly 60 years ago in 1967.

PFF gives him the second-highest grade of any member of the Cardinals (behind Conner), offense or defense. As a pass-catcher, he was given an 89.8 receiving grade.

Although McBride didn't record a receiving touchdown until Week 17, he managed one in each of the last two contests, and finished with four total touchdowns on the season, including a fumble recovery and rushing score.

Not only was he a reliable target, but he was a menace in the open field. Quarterback Kyler Murray and the rest of the Cardinals' offense relied heavily on McBride's ability to get open on critical downs, come down with acrobatic catches, and even hurdle defenders at an alarmingly high rate.

Amongst NFL tight ends, McBride was second only to Raiders rookie stud Brock Bowers in receptions and yards, while surpassing the numbers of George Kittle, Travis Kelce, Sam LaPorta and others by wide margins. If he had played all 17 games, he might have easily been first.

With an offense that had plenty of struggles and inconsistency through the air, McBride was the one constant. He was both a steady, reliable target and an explosive, elite playmaker.

In a system that emphasized the run, with some questionable play-calling and inconsistent quarterback play at times, McBride didn't simply help the passing game, he was the passing game. It's almost sickening to imagine what the offense would have looked like without him.

There is hope, and reason to believe Harrison and Murray will have a much better year in 2025, the fact of the matter is that no one on Arizona's offense (at least in the passing game) comes close to what McBride was able to do.

If anything, he still hasn't reached his potential. McBride is a budding star, should be considered amongst the NFL's best tight ends, and very deservedly takes home our MVP award.


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Alex D'Agostino
ALEX D'AGOSTINO

Born and raised in the desert, Alex is a lifelong follower of Arizona sports. Alex also writes for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's Inside the Diamondbacks, and previously covered the Cardinals and Diamondbacks for FanSided. Follow Alex on Twitter @AlexDagAZ.