McBride a healthy Week 1 scratch

The Cardinals made rookie TE Trey McBride a healthy inactive for Sunday's opener against the Chiefs. No one should have been expecting immediate impact from the 2nd-round pick, but this points to how far he is from fantasy football relevance. Zach Ertz entered the game questionable with a calf issue, yet Arizona chose not to activate a 3rd TE (behind #2 Maxx Williams). McBride remains interesting long term.

Cardinals TE Trey McBride racked up 7 catches for 78 yards and the team's only TD in Sunday's narrow loss to the Falcons. He tied WR Greg Dortch for the team target lead (10), with QB David Blough making his 1st start -- Arizona's 4th different starting QB this year. The rookie TE topped his previous highs by 3 receptions and 23 yards, finding the end zone for the 1st time as a pro. McBride will be an interesting fantasy prospect for 2023. Veteran TE Zach Ertz has 1 year left on his contract, but he also carries a $12 million salary vs. $4 million in dead cap space if the team releases him. We'll see what the Cards do this offseason and where McBride settles in early best-ball drafts.

Cardinals GM Steve Keim gave his scouting report on rookie TE Trey McBride. “The guy can do it all,” he said. “He can play in-line, he can flex, he can motion, he can play out of the backfield. He’s got tremendous hands and a great catching radius. He’s really strong in a crowd. And his character is off the charts. He’s a three-time captain, a phenomenal leader and we’re just thankful he was there [to draft].” Keim added that McBride was “by far the highest graded [prospect]” at pick #55. Zach Ertz’s contract makes it tough for the team to move on before 2024, so McBride figures to play a part-time role for the foreseeable future.

The Cardinals grabbed Colorado State TE Trey McBride in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. After a solid sophomore campaign, McBride got only a 4-game junior year, thanks to COVID. He won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top TE last season, though, racking up 90 receptions for 1,121 yards. McBride totaled just 10 TD catches for his career and arrives somewhat limited in size and athleticism, but there’s upside as a short-to-midrange receiver. He’ll head to training camp behind TE Zach Ertz but could push the veteran for playing time throughout the season.