TEMPE, Ariz. -- One by one, Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride checked off his lifelong goals in the 2024 season.
Be considered one of the best tight ends in the NFL? Check. Make his first Pro Bowl? Check again.
A young McBride grew up in Colorado dreaming of these accomplishments. Now, after a breakout year that culminated with his first 1,000-yard season, they've become his reality.
"It's obviously a huge honor," McBride said. "This is something you dream about as a little kid. Obviously, you want to make it to the pros and then you want to be the best, and for me, this is just one step into that right direction. This is a huge honor for me. I'm very excited, proud and everyone else just to bring this back home where I'm from."
McBride's success translated into 1,146 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 111 catches. He finished the season first in the league among tight ends in targets per route run (30.0%), team target share (29.6%) and receiving first downs (63); second in receiving yards (1,146), receptions (111), targets (148) and receiving yards per game (71.6); and third in routes (494) and yards after catch (513).
All McBride needed was a chance.
In 2023, McBride gave a preview of what was to come in the season's final 10 games when he tallied 655 of his 825 receiving yards. Tight end Zach Ertz was put on injured reserve after Week 7 and then subsequently waived on Nov. 30, allowing McBride to become the team's top receiver. That carried into this past season: McBride's third in the NFL and his first as TE1.
McBride used a summer trip to Tight End University in Nashville as the launching point of his breakout season. And while not catching a touchdown until Week 17 may have frustrated the 25-year-old, it didn't deter him.
"I just wanted an opportunity since I've got here, I just needed a chance and I finally got that chance late last year, and I just try to focus on what I can control," McBride said. "I never try to do too much outside of my comfort zone or anything like that. I just try to play football, try to be the best football player that I can possibly be, and that's exactly what I've done."
Quarterback Kyler Murray thinks McBride can be even better than he was.
"Which is ... it's saying a lot because he's a beast. He's a beast," Murray said. "He does so much, but there are a little nuances that nobody really, you got to be in the room to really understand what's going on. But, no, man, I'll say it every time. I think he's the best in the league and he'll only continue to get better as we get better together."
Consistency was McBride's theme in 2024. One of McBride's goals for 2025 is to play in every game. He missed one game this season after suffering a concussion in Week 3.
Two seasons ago, one of McBride's focus areas was his route depths, tight end coach Ben Steele said. When Steele would walk by McBride in the stretching lines this season, he had the same message for him: "The great ones show up every day."
"He's a complete tight end, which to me that's what a tight end does," Steele said. "They're not just slow receivers. If you don't block, you're just a slow receiver. So, he runs through people's face and he blocks people at the point of attack and most of the guys that get voted to the Pro Bowl, they don't do that.
"They're slow receivers in my opinion, and that's my personal opinion."
Steele said McBride's blocking improved this season, but McBride thought there's still room for growth.
"I feel like that's never going to be where I want it to be, but obviously I've made some strides in the pass game," McBride said.
That much was obvious as he smashed his own team record of 81 receptions by a tight end from last year with 30 more this year.
McBride's ability to block has made him "invaluable," Steele said. And it's also made Steele's job tougher. He struggles to find time to get McBride a break during games because he can be on the field for every kind of play.
It all helped McBride become the Cardinals' first tight end to make a Pro Bowl since Hall of Famer Jackie Smith in 1970, which, Steele said, is a "tribute to his work."
"He just goes about his business and works day by day," Gannon said. "Loves the [meetings] and the weight room and practice, and loves to play, man. He loves football.
"So, if you love football and you got a growth mindset and you're constantly trying to get better, you typically hit your ceiling. And I think he can still go a little bit higher, but he's done a really good job, premier player for us."