ESPN had Trey McBride ranked fourth in tight end rankings
Happy Tuesday one and all.
With the offseason winding down we are getting all of the rankings heading into the season.
One that caught my eye was the tight end rankings from ESPN and this is what they say:
ESPN surveyed league executives, coaches and scouts to help us rank the top 10 players at 11 different positions, from quarterback to cornerback and all positions in between.
So, when they dropped the rankings for tight ends, it was a bit of surprise to see Trey McBride outside of the top three.
From ESPN:
4. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals’ new $76 million man has been worth every cent for Arizona, which trusted McBride with a 29.7% target share last season.
McBride rewarded that usage with a Year 3 breakout that included 111 catches for 1,116 yards on his way to a first Pro Bowl nod. His 147 targets last season ranked second among tight ends, and McBride turned those targets into 7.8 yards per clip. He has run-after-catch ability with speed and good hands and is a capable blocker.
“Best receiving tight end out there,” an NFL coordinator said. “He’s a hard cover even for elite corners.”
McBride’s jump from last year’s honorable mention status to the top four is sizable, but he was the only tight end not named Kittle or Bowers to receive a first-place vote.
“Lack of touchdowns hurts him a bit for me if we’re talking about top-five guys,” an NFL personnel director said about McBride, who has six total touchdowns in three seasons.
Wait… McBride is in at four?
Who was in front of him:
- Brock Bowers
- George Kittle
- Sam LaPorta
I feel like LaPorta being in front of McBride is an interesting one, considering he only out performed McBride in one area, touchdowns. So, we are saying that LaPorta is better overall than McBride based on that?
I guess we are nitpicking between three and four, and as the report says McBride was the only other tight end to receive a first place vote, so maybe people are not watching as closely to make that call?
Anyways, I think the top three are Bowers/Kittle/McBride in some order and then the rest have to meet them at that effort.