Trey McBride was the first TE selected in the 2022 NFL Draft — he went 55th to the Arizona Cardinals. McBride did very little his rookie year, playing the majority of the time behind Zach Ertz, who commanded 92% of TE targets that season. This year has been a little different.
Even with Ertz on the field, McBride began to make his presence known. After an average first five weeks, he was TE11 in Week 6 with five targets. The target share increase continued, with six in Week 7 and 14 in Week 8.
Ertz was put on IR after Week 7, and it was McBride’s time to shine in Week 8 against Baltimore. McBride caught 10 of the 14 targets, and he turned them into 95 yards and one TD. He saw 38.9% of Arizona’s targets, which was the highest target share any TE has seen in any game this season. He played 62 out of 76 snaps, ran 36 routes, and, going into the Monday night game, he is the TE2 in fantasy football behind Taysom Hill.
Should Trey McBride Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 9?
McBride should be a priority waiver wire add this week if you have been streaming your TE or don’t have one of the top three.
The increase in targets over the past three weeks should be enough to convince you, and the execution of opportunities should push you over the edge if you are still unsure. He is TE11 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings for Week 9. The Cardinals travel to Cleveland in Week 9, and they are middle of the road against TEs.
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The team has been less than clear when discussing when QB Kyler Murray may return. Most are theorizing Week 10 against Atlanta would be the best game to debut Murray for the season, and the question does remain: Will McBride’s usage stay this high with Murray under center?
With Hollywood Brown being the only other consistent WR producer in Arizona, Murray should continue to target McBride as a second option. In 2021 and 2022, Ertz was continually targeted by Murray, especially in the red zone; he had 33 total red-zone targets through those two seasons.
Fantasy managers might be concerned about matchups with the young McBride, but Baltimore was the fourth-best against opposing TEs, and we saw what he did with them. I am confident picking up and starting McBride moving forward, at least until Ertz returns.
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