2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: TE Trey McBride, Colorado State

Trey McBride is viewed as the top tight end in this year's draft class. But is he a fit for the Giants, who need a young tight end on their offense?

Trey McBride, TE

Height: 6’4
Weight: 246 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Colorado State
Arm length: 32 ½”
Hands: 10 ⅛”

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Overview

Jon Austria/The Coloradoan / USA TODAY NETWORK

A former three-star recruit out of Fort Morgan High School in Fort Morgan, Colorado, McBride was the 67th tight end recruit and the seventh-ranked prospect in Colorado during the 2018 cycle. McBride almost left Colorado State in 2020. 

He entered the transfer portal but decided to remain with the Rams. He produced well in high school but wasn’t as highly recruited as other productive tight ends. Received offers from Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Navy, Cal, Colorado, and Kansas State. 

He was a standout baseball and basketball player in high school; he holds school records for points scored in basketball and home runs/RBIs in baseball.

Notables

Jon Austria/The Coloradoan / USA TODAY NETWORK

Led the nation in catches (91) at tight end and receiving yards (1,125) but only had one touchdown in 2021. His 2021 season was one of the best years for a tight end in FBS history. McBride was a unanimous All-American (first in school history) and won the John Mackey Award, an honor reserved for the nation’s top tight end. McBride ends his time as a Ram with 165 catches on 225 targets for 2,104-yards and ten touchdowns.

He was a two-time selection to the Mountain West First Team (2019 & 2021). McBride aligned in many different areas in 2021; 80% of the time inline, 12% as a big slot, and 7% outside. McBride was the backside “X” in the Rams’ 3x1 packages. He was Second Team in 2020. McBride attended the Reese’s Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.

• Bench press: 18 
• Vertical jump: 33”
• Broad jump: 117”

Strengths

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

• Solid size, and good thickness to his frame
• Athletic enough to play in the NFL - accelerates out of breaks with solid rudeness
• Very precise footwork when releasing off the line and while running routes
• Does a solid job sifting through trash when releasing as a Y off the line
• Has nuance to his route running; leans into contact at the break point
• Maximizes separation while breaking with subtle push offs
• Very expansive route tree: attacked all three levels of the field in a variety of ways
• Very good and smart route runner
• Did a very good job finding space on deep horizontal crossers
• Incredibly smart route runner; consistently found holes in zone coverage (Nevada, Q1, 9:44, 1st&10)
• Big soft hands that do an excellent job securing the football through contact (six career drops)
• Very good in contested catch situations which trivializes his lack of elite athletic upside
• Had over a 50% contested catch win rate
• Not scared of the middle of the field and will take big shots (Hawaii, Q3, 1:13)
• Shows very impressive body control and adjustment to footballs in the air
• Concentration is elite - several catches off of tipped passes
• Makes contested catches away from his frame and does a solid job holding the football through contact
• Uses body well to shield defenders away from the catch point
• Solid speed with the football in his hand to create YAC
• Is physical enough to lower his shoulder and create yards falling forward
• Tries hard as a blocker
• Is functional enough to be an inline blocker (not elite in this area)
• Showed excellent adaptability in many areas, including blocking
• Had an excellent play-side boundary block on a pin-pull concept against Iowa (Q1, 2:40, 2nd&6), adjusted through the contact to access defender’s outside shoulder and allow an alley to form
• Versatile - can align in many different spots with success

Can Improve

Jon Austria/The Coloradoan / USA TODAY NETWORK

• Modest catch radius
• Isn’t a dynamic athlete, albeit he’s sufficient enough to have success in the NFL
• Won’t naturally create separation with his athletic ability
• Will be some separation concerns
• Won’t threaten safeties deep
• Is functional as a blocker, but really struggled against Iowa in 2021
• Could utilize his adequate length more as a blocker
• Angles to block outside on stretch plays were suspect
• Needs to bring his feet with him when blocking
• Leans too much into contact, throwing his balance off
• Only one touchdown in 2021 (I don’t think he can’t be a red zone threat)

Summary

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Overall, Trey McBride is a very good tight end prospect entering the NFL. He doesn’t have dynamic athletic ability, but he creates good separation in and out of breaks, is a smooth/smart route runner, and plays with balance/control. McBride shows great concentration and contested-catch ability. 

He isn’t scared when going over the middle of the field, and he can run just about every route. As a blocker, McBride isn’t Rob Gronkowski, but he’s functional. He can align inline and not destroy the continuity of a rushing play; he’ll have to be more controlled when moving laterally and use his big mits more efficiently to gain inside control on defenders his size. 

McBride should be an option for the Giants in round two, and he would add a reliable, consistent pass catcher to an offense that lacked such for quite a while.

 GRADE: 6.49

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