Trey McBride 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook, Projections, And Ranking

Trey McBride enters the 2025 fantasy football season as a high-volume, top-tier tight end with 100-catch, 1,000-yard upside, but he’ll need more touchdowns to truly separate himself from the pack.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) has been named to the NFL Pro Bowl. | Joe Rondone / The Arizona Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In his final season in college, McBride finished with 90 catches for 1,121 yards on 134 targets, but he only scored one touchdown. Over the previous two seasons, over 16 combined games, McBride had 67 catches for 890 yards and eight scores on 88 targets (76.1% catch rate). His 2021 season started with three active games (13/116, 8/114/1, and 9/109) while maintaining a floor of six catches in 11 of his 12 starts.

Despite needing some work on his blocking techniques, McBride brought a feel of a power tight end with good hands. He worked the short areas of the field, but his overall speed limited his ceiling in the deep passing game. McBride can make plays with his feet in space, and his strength does create some missed tackles. His route running was in the right place to start his NFL career.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride warms up before their game against the Los Angeles Chargers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 21, 2024. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In his rookie season of relief of Zach Ertz, McBride caught 29 of his 39 targets for 265 yards and one score. His best stats came in Week 15 (4/55) and Week 17 (7/78/1).

The coin toss of Zach Ertz and McBride in the fantasy market in 2023 landed on the younger option at tight end for the Cardinals. After a relatively quiet first seven games (15/170 on 21 targets), McBride moved into the starting lineup in Week 8, leading to an impact showing (10/95/1). He caught 66 of his 85 targets over his final 10 matchups for 655 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by three other impact games (8/131, 8/89/1, and 10/102). McBride had a floor of six catches in seven of his final 10 starts.

His second-half success from the previous year translated into a monster tight end season (111/1,146/2 on 147 targets) for McBride in 2024. He continued to come up short in touchdowns (2) and big plays (10.3 YPC). His first touchdown in 2024 came in Week 17.

McBride was the second-best tight end (249.80 fantasy points) in PPR formats. Over his final 10 starts (78/824/2 on 102 targets – 17.86 FPPG), he scored over 15.00 fantasy points in six matchups (9/124, 12/133, 12/96, 9/87, 12/123/1, and 7/65/1). He missed Week 4 due to a concussion.

Trey McBride 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook, Projections, And Ranking

When building a fantasy starting lineup, the two most important factors should be consistency and explosiveness. McBride checks the first box, but to excel in the second area, he must reach paydirt at a higher rate. Over his 49 games and 221 catches, reaching the endzone has only happened six times (12.2% chance per game, and 2.7% of his catches resulted in a touchdown).

This draft season, McBride is the second tight end selected, matching his final ranking from 2024. His floor is 100 catches and 1,000 yards, mainly due to Kyler Murray’s willingness to take what the defense gives him on many plays. A fantasy drafter must decide if he offers enough of an edge at tight end to select at the 2/3 turn from an early draft position. I’m expecting a bump in touchdowns this year.

McBride is currently the TE2 in our 2025 PPR Rankings and the TE3 in our Non-PPR Rankings.