PFF: Cardinals TE Ranked in Upper Half of NFL Players

The Cardinals continue to move up the ranks of PFF's rankings.

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) catches a touchdown pass against San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (54) in the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals are beginning to find themselves in a somewhat unfamiliar spot, with recognition starting to pour in for some of their franchise stars.

Each year, Pro Football Focus puts together a thorough list of who they determine to be the best 101 players in the NFL, according to their performances in the prior season.

For 2024, the Cardinals have already seen running back James Conner ranked at #81, with cornerback Garrett Williams not far above Conner at #73.

But now, Arizona's star playmaker, and the arguably most valuable member of the Cardinals' entire roster is recognized within the top 50.

Star tight end Trey McBride comes in at #42 on this list for his remarkable breakout season through the grind of 2024.

PFF's justification for McBride's position reads as follows:

"McBride set a new NFL record this season as he didn’t score a touchdown once on his first 97 catches. While he lacked end-zone production, he was still one of the best tight ends in the league. 

"He was second among all tight ends in PFF grade (86.8), receptions (111), receiving yards (1,146) and yards after the catch (526). McBride finished the year as the most valuable tight end in the league according to PFF’s WAR metric."

For all you non-baseball fans out there, WAR, or Wins Above Replacement, is a metric that intends to measure a player's overall value to their squad, in terms of how many wins came as a result of their play, compared to the play of a replacement-level player (i.e. a non-star).

But in spite of a passing offense that was at times both inconsistent and anemic, McBride shined in an undeniable manner throughout the 2024 season.

Regardless of McBride's difficulty in finding the end zone, he was the second highest-graded member of Arizona's offense behind only Conner.

He was the only one of Kyler Murray's pass-catchers to even near a 1,000-yard season, and displayed exceptional feats of strength, agility, and pass-catching ability, and is still only 25 years old.

A massive extension could be coming McBride's way, as the stud tight end figures to continue as the driving force of Arizona's aerial attack alongside Marvin Harrison Jr.

For now, he's listed as the 42nd-best player in football. But it certainly seems as if that number could be merely scratching the surface of what the budding superstar can truly be capable of.