With the increased emphasis on passing the ball, the tight end position has become invaluable to the top teams in the NFL. Household names like Kansas City’sTravis Kelce, San Francisco’s George Kittle, and Baltimore’s Mark Andrews have dominated the position for years. But there’s a new breed of young and hungry pass-catchers, led by Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft, Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid, Indianapolis’ Tyler Warren, and Chicago’s Colston Loveland, emerging as the next wave of future greats.
However, legendary New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski believes there’s one young player who’s clearly established himself as the best of the best. While previewing the Arizona Cardinals-Seattle Seahawks game during “Fox NFL Sunday,” Gronkowski emphatically named Cardinals TE Trey McBride as the best in the game. "He has been producing, there’s no doubt about that.
And his favorite target is Trey McBride, who to me, is the best tight end in the NFL right now. You can’t argue that.” It’s hard to argue with Gronkowski’s remarks. The 26-year-old McBride burst onto the scene with an 81-catch, 825-yard, three-touchdowns season back in 2023.
He then posted back-to-back 100-catch seasons in 2024 (111) and 2025 (126), and he topped 1,000 yards both years (1,146 in 2024, 1,239 in 2025). He also scored a career-high 11 touchdowns last season as well. McBride has been the lone bright spot of Arizona’s offense the last two years.
Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson have both shown flashes of being a future No. 1 WR, but the Cardinals have struggled to find a true heir to Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald. Aside from DeAndre Hopkins’ 115-catch, 1,407-yard, six-touchdown season in 2020, the Cardinals haven’t had many impressive statistical performances from their WRs. With McBride’s emergence, it at least gives Arizona’s passing offense some form of credibility.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
