In a complete catastrophe of a season for the Arizona Cardinals, one bright spot has emerged.
This player has been more than just a good story. He is literally rewriting the NFL record books.
That player is Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, who set an NFL record when he caught his 117th pass this season. That is the most receptions by a tight end in NFL history.
He ended Arizona’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with 119 total catches. With one more game left in the season, McBride could end the year with some really gaudy numbers.
Breaking Down Trey McBride’s Great Season
Entering the 2025 season, most NFL fans knew about Trey McBride, but they probably did not expect him to be the best tight end in the league.
While he had 1,146 receiving yards in 2024, he only had two touchdowns to go with his high yardage production. It was something missing from his good season. Despite the lack of touchdowns, he still made it to the Pro Bowl.
McBride coasted to the 2025 Pro Bowl, and his 10 receptions against the Bengals were enough to get him to 119 catches on the season. As mentioned earlier, he needed 117 catches to break the single-season tight end reception record, which was previously held by Zach Ertz catching 116 passes in 2018 with the Philadelphia Eagles.
When the game vs. Cincinnati was over, McBride had 119 catches for 1,174 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 119 catches lead the NFL, his 11 touchdowns are second in the league, and he ranks sixth in yardage, trailing only the best wide receivers in the league.
When you take a step back, this is a remarkable accomplishment for a guy who was a lightly recruited prospect out of Fort Morgan, Colorado. McBride went off to Colorado State and eventually became a second-round pick in 2022.
Now, he is the best player on the Cardinals and will likely be a first-team All-Pro selection at tight end.
Trey McBride Joins Elite Company
When you set an NFL record at any position, you have to beat out some great players to reach that mark.
Ertz had 116 catches in 2018, Evan Engram had 114 catches in 2023, Brock Bowers had 112 catches in 2024, and McBride had 111 catches in 2024 as well.
That list shows how tight end receiving production has rocketed up in the late-2010s to now. These guys are entering the league as amazing pass-catchers, and they are being paired with good enough quarterbacks to help them reach those statistical milestones.
Interestingly enough, elite tight ends like Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski do not have the single season catch production like McBride and Bowers do. Prior to 2010, the only tight ends to ever have 100 or more catches in a season were Tony Gonzalez and Dallas Clark.
Obviously, the NFL passing game has advanced in the past 15 years due to great skill talent and favorable rule changes. Still, this is an amazing accomplishment for McBride. He is more than capable of resetting the record in the future.
McBride’s 119 receptions also broke the Cardinals’ single season catch record. DeAndre Hopkins previously held that record with 115 catches in 2020.
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