Jun 17, 2026, 12:45 PM ET

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride put together a phenomenal 2025 season, ranking as the overall TE1 in PPR leagues with 126 catches, 1,239 yards, and 11 touchdowns. He was at his best when the Cardinals had Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. In his five weeks with Kyler Murray, he averaged 12.5 fantasy points and ranked as the TE4. That's not bad by any means, but it's significantly inferior to his production through 12 weeks with Brissett, when he averaged 21.1 points per game. During that span, he was the undisputed TE1, scoring a whopping 90 points more than the TE2 (Kyle Pitts). Brissett has already held himself out of some practices due to a contract issue, but assuming he's named the starter for 2026, we would expect McBride to be the odds-on favorite to finish as the overall TE1 for a second year in a row. He's a target machine who is capable of making athletic plays downfield, breaking tackles, and scoring touchdowns. Every year, there's a debate about whether one tight end should be selected in the first round of fantasy football drafts. In 2026, that player is McBride. For what it's worth, managers are typically drafting him closer to the mid-second round, as he currently owns an ADP of 18.95. Nevertheless, he's a very appealing draft target considering how much production he offers at the tight end position relative to other tight ends in the league.--Andersen Pickard