When you cover a team for 25 years, you remember certain themes around a team. How long the Cardinals sought a high-level tight end was one of them.
There were moments the team thought they had one. They signed Freddie Jones in free agency in 2002, but he never quite broke out for some struggling offenses. They traded for Zach Ertz, but then he ripped up his knee and that undercut his tenure. The team actually moved to Arizona with both Rob Awalt and Jay Novacek. Novack was that guy -- but it didn't really show until he played for Super Bowl teams in Dallas.
That's why Trey McBride is so meaningful.
It's funny in hindsight when people were upset with McBride as a second-round pick after being the best tight end in the 2022 college draft class. It took him a minute to get his feet under him, understandable with Ertz still on the roster. But as everyone saw at the end of last season, McBride has legitimately earned the right to be in the conversation of the best tight ends in the NFL.
"He's not a one-trick pony," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "He's really good in the run game, and ... he's a three-level guy. He can beat you first level, second level and third level. Then in my opinion, where I think he's really elite is with the ball in his hands. He's got a knack for knowing when to cover the ball up, when to stiff-arm, when to hurdle guys, when to cut back, when to lower his shoulder and when to split two. He's a tough tackle and he's fast. He plays with really good balance and really good control. He is a big guy, so he is hard to bring down, (and) pair that with those other athletic traits and he is a big-time weapon."
McBride is slightly behind pace to be the Cardinals' first 1,000-yard tight end since moving to Arizona, but he could do it. It underscores what this team has never had since the move. It also emphasizes the greatness of the best tight end in franchise history, Hall of Famer Jackie Smith. McBride's 100-yard game in Miami was his third -- which is the second-most by a player in franchise history (chew on that a minute).
Smith is first, with 22.
Maybe McBride eventually gets there, maybe not. But it doesn't take away from how good McBride already is, or how much better he may get. Certainly, you cannot argue he is the best tight end the Cardinals have had in a long, long time.
