2022 NFL Draft Profiles: Should the Jaguars Target Colorado State TE Trey McBride?

After sending their tight end coach to Trey McBride's pro day, does it make sense for the Jaguars to make the Colorado State tight end a key target?

Author:
John Shipley
Publish date:
Apr 1, 2022 10:02 AM EDT

The 2022 NFL Draft season is upon us.

Among the 32 teams building their rosters to compete for the next Lombardi Trophy is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hold 12 picks in this season’s draft -- including the No. 1 overall pick. The Jaguars are entering a new era after the Urban Meyer tenure, making this draft as pivotal as one could imagine.

As we march closer and closer to April’s draft, we will look at individual draft prospects and how they would potentially fit with the Jaguars. Instead of looking at any negatives, we are going to look at what the players do well and if they could match what the Jaguars need at the specific role or position.

In our next prospect breakdown, we take a look at Colorado State tight end Trey McBride, arguably the best tight end prospect in the class.

Overview

A 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end prospect in the 2018 class, Trey McBride enters this year as one of the draft's most prolific tight ends. He was a solid prospect out of high school as well, being ranked a three-star tight end by 247Sports. He did outplay his rankings, though, which had him as the No. 67 tight end, No. 1,556 overall and No. 7 in the state.

McBride ultimately committed to Colorado State after receiving seven total offers, including offers from California, Colorado, Kansas State, Navy, Northern Colorado. and Wyoming.

McBride was sparingly used as a freshman, catching seven passes for 89 yards (12.7 yards per catch) and one touchdown. His numbers took a big leap in year two, however, as he caught 45 receptions for 560 yards (12.4 yards per catch) and four touchdowns, ending the season as a first-team All-Mountain West selection.

Voted a team captain in 2020, McBride appeared in all four of Colorado State's games and was named second-team All-Mountain West after catching 22 passes for 330 yards (15.0 yards per catch) and four touchdowns. McBride finished his college career as the John Mackey Award Winner and a unanimous All-American, the first in school history, after catching 90 passes for 1,121 yards (12.5 yards per catch) and one touchdown.

What Trey McBride Does Well

The first thing that stands out about McBride is how natural of a receiver he is. There are no questions surrounding his hands and ability as a pure catcher, with McBride consistently showing soft hands underneath and the ability to track the ball and catch it in stride downfield. He does a good job of extending for the ball outside his frame despite having below-average length and he is able to shield defenders from the ball with his frame when catching over the middle.

Despite his lack of length, McBride does a good job in contested catch situations as well. Whether in the short to intermediate area of the field or downfield, McBride has shown off the ball skills, body control and physicality to win the ball against contact, an important trait for any tight end. He can make tough catches in traffic at all levels of the field and could be a safety blanket for his quarterback.

While McBride doesn't have dynamic burst or overall athleticism after the catch, he does have good burst off the ball and has even show the ability to line up on the perimeter and win on quick in-breaking routes due to explosive first steps. He is a solid route-runner who has the ability to sink his hips and make tight breaks, showing good balance and overall foot quickness for his size.

McBride isn't a dominating blocker but he does at least have the effort level and play strength to develop in this regard. He gives maximum effort and does a good job of positioning himself on the backside of running plays, while also showing the ability to displace linebackers and safeties in the running game.

How Trey McBride Would Fit With the Jaguars

There is quite the underlooked conundrum at the Jaguars' tight end position as things stand today. The Jaguars have just four tight ends on the current roster and three of them (Evan Engram, Dan Arnold and Chris Manhertz) are on expiring deals. 2021 fifth-rounder Luke Farrell had limited exposure as a rookie, so the Jaguars could absolutely be in the market for a rookie tight end.

In terms of who fits Doug Pederson's offense, Trey McBride is likely at the very top of the list when it comes to this year's tight ends. He isn't exactly dynamic after the catch but he is a good route runner, has good hands and has the speed to get up the seam and even line up outside at times. Add in the fact that he is at least a willing blocker and the Jaguars could find use for him.

With that said, I do not think he has the blocking ability to be a team's leading in-line tight end. The Jaguars already have essentially two tight ends in Engram and Arnold who can't line up in-line, which could create some formational issues as no defense would be threatened by them in 12 personnel.

I do not think McBride is someone the Jaguars would want consistently blocking defensive ends on the play side of running plays. He sustains well as a blocker on the backside of plays vs. linebackers and defensive backs, but he doesn't have the size or overall push as a blocker to be an especially effective one at the next level, even if the effort and positioning is there.

Still, McBride has plenty of similarities to a lot of other tight ends we have seen in Pederson's offense. He is a talented pass-catcher in the middle of the field and is a vertical threat, something the Jaguars can't have too much of.

Verdict

The Jaguars have a need for more pass-catchers, no matter how many additions they made this offseason. Jacksonville simply needs more players who can create big plays and support Trevor Lawrence and McBride would do exactly that.

With this in mind, it would be a bold pick at No. 33 considering there are other pressing needs at linebacker, guard, receiver and potentially edge rusher depending on the No. 1 overall selection. The Jaguars taking a tight end at No. 33 would probably represent pretty poor value unless he is an immediate focal point of the offense. The better option would ultimately be to consider one at No. 65 overall, but it is unlikely McBride falls past the top-50.

For all of our 2022 NFL Draft profiles, click below.