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McBride is unlikely to match last year’s historic output. He faces more touch competition this season with the arrival of rookie RB Jeremiyah Love. And the Cardinals are unlikely to lead the league in pass attempts again.
But McBride remains a good bet for big volume and difference-making fantasy production. Consider him in Round 3 of fantasy drafts.
Customize his projection for your exact league settings inside the Draft War Room.McBride turned in a historical 2025, catching 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 TDs.
He set the NFL record for single-season catches by a TE and recorded the 11th-most yards. His 18.6 PPR points per game were the seventh-most all time at the position.
McBride, of course, led all TEs in fantasy points last year. He averaged 3.9 more points per game than any other TE. And his scoring average would have ranked fifth among WRs.
McBride also set a single-season TE record with 169 targets last year. That ranked third league-wide and was 51 more than any other TE, bigger than the gap between the No. 2 and No. 21 TEs in targets.
McBride led the entire NFL with 695 pass routes last year. He drew a target on 25% of them, which ranked 30th among all players with 50+ targets and second among TEs. McBride’s 25.4% target share ranked 13th league-wide and first among TEs.
He also led all TEs with 48 red-zone targets (21 more than any other TE) and 18 end-zone targets (five more than any other TE).
McBride’s 17.7 expected PPR points per game were 4.2 more than any other TE and would have ranked fifth among WRs.
McBride caught 74.6% of his targets last year but averaged just 9.8 yards per catch. His 7.3 yards per target ranked 17th among 39 TEs with 40+ targets.
McBride looks better from a yards per route perspective, where he ranked sixth among those 39 TEs. McBride also finished second in Pro Football Focus receiving grade and sixth in ESPN receiver score.
The 2025 Cardinals were the pass-heaviest offense in the NFL. They ranked first in pass rate and pass attempts, finishing seventh in both pass yards and TDs.
Much of that pass-heaviness came with QB Jacoby Brissett. Over the first five games of the season with QB Kyler Murray, Arizona averaged 32.4 passes per game on a 59.1% pass rate. Those marks jumped to 40.6 and 68.6% with Brissett over the final 12.
Not surprisingly, McBride got a boost in those Brissett games.
With Murray:
With Brissett:
McBride finished second among TEs with 15.2 PPR points per game in 2024. He drew a 28.2% target share that season and averaged a career-best 2.14 yards per route.
McBride’s breakout started when Zach Ertz went down with a season-ending injury in Week 7 of 2023. Over the final 10 games of that season, McBride tallied a 26.2% target share and averaged 15.0 PPR points per game.
McBride ranks second to Brock Bowers in PPR points per game over the last three seasons and leads the position over the last two years.
McBride has missed just one game with injury through four NFL seasons, with a concussion in September 2024.
McBride returns as the heavy favorite to lead the Cardinals in targets this season.
Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson are back as the team’s top two WRs. Harrison drew 21.9% of targets in his eight healthy games last year after posting a 21.4% target share as a rookie. Wilson is coming off a breakout 2025. But the vast majority of his production came when Harrison was out or limited.
The Cardinals did add Jeremiyah Love with the third pick of the draft. He’ll play a big role right away, including in the passing game. Love caught 55 balls and averaged 9.4 yards per catch over his final two seasons at Notre Dame.
McBride might not match last year’s 25.4% target share this season. But he’s a good bet to finish top-3 among TEs in targets and is as good a bet as anyone to lead the position.
The Cardinals are in rebuild mode, planning to trot out Jacoby Brissett as their Week 1 starter. Brissett kept the offense decent – and boosted McBride’s production – over the final 12 games of last season. But we’re still talking about a 33-year-old journeyman with 6.6 yards per attempt for his career.
There’s also a chance we see third-round rookie Carson Beck under center at some point this season.
QB play is a concern for McBride’s 2026 outlook, despite Brissett’s production last year.
Arizona features a new coaching staff led by HC Mike LaFleur, who is expected to call offensive plays.
LaFleur spent the past three years as Rams OC but did not call plays. He also spent seven seasons working under Kyle Shanahan from 2014 to 2020.
LaFleur’s only play-calling experience came with the Jets in 2021 and 2022. Both teams finished bottom eight in total yards and points, although it’s tough to pin too much blame on LaFleur when his QBs were Zach Wilson, Mike White, and Joe Flacco.
LaFleur’s offenses were relatively balanced in terms of run/pass split, registering pass rates over expected of +3.9% and -0.6%.
Considering LaFleur’s history, the team’s personnel, and the likelihood this team won’t be good, expect the Cardinals to run a balanced to pass-leaning offense this season. But don’t expect them to throw anywhere near as much as they did last year.
We saw the path last year. The Cardinals throw a bunch, McBride dominates targets, and he finishes as the clear TE1 in fantasy football. That’s within the range of outcomes again this season.
McBride could lose target share and have the Cardinals throw significantly less this season. That combination would likely drop McBride behind Brock Bowers in fantasy scoring, and might also allow TEs such as Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren to challenge him.
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Jacoby Brissett’s New Deal Locks Him In As Arizona’s 2026 Starter
Jacoby Brissett’s New Deal Locks Him In As Arizona’s 2026 Starter
Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett skipped most of the team’s off-season program as he requested a new deal. The team and Brissett came to an agreement in the final year of his two-year deal. He will be paid $15.5 million with a chance to reach $21 million with incentives. Brissett was scheduled to make $4.88 million this year before the agreement. He's now the Cardinals' starter for 2026.
Cardinals Might Have to Prove How Much They Like Jacoby Brissett
Cardinals Might Have to Prove How Much They Like Jacoby Brissett
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that QB Jacoby Brissett is skipping "Phase 1" of the Cardinals' offseason program while seeking a new contract.
Kyler Murray Is A Free Man
Kyler Murray Is A Free Man
The Cardinals will release QB Kyler Murray when the new league year starts on Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. That's barring a trade happening before now and then -- which won't. Arizona owes Murray $36.8 million guaranteed in 2026, and another $19.5 million for 2017 would have triggered on March 15 if Murray was still on the roster. So this move has been expected for a while.
Mike LaFleur Lands in Arizona After the Music Stops
Mike LaFleur Lands in Arizona After the Music Stops
The Cardinals are hiring Mike LaFleur as their new HC, according to multiple reports. Arizona becomes the 10th and final team to fill a head-coaching vacancy this offseason. The Cardinals were in the mix for several other candidates, including Klint Kubiak, who accepted the Raiders’ head job yesterday. In the end, Arizona was the last team without a partner before landing on LaFleur.
Marvin Harrison Jr. Out For Week 18
Marvin Harrison Jr. Out For Week 18
Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. won't play in Sunday's finale vs. the Rams, the team announced. Harrison suffered a new foot injury in the Week 17 loss to the Bengals, on the opposite side of the bum heel he's been dealing with. It ends a disappointing sophomore season for Harrison, who winds up missing five games and parts of a few more. In eight games with a snap rate north of 70%, he averaged:
His 13.2 PPR points per game in those outings would have ranked 21st among WRs on the season. The Cardinals figure to have a new QB and coaching staff in 2026, which can only be good news for Harrison's fantasy prospects.
WR Michael Wilson and TE Trey McBride figure to dominate targets against the Rams this weekend.
See whether Trey McBride is available in your leagues.
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