GLENDALE, Ariz. – Linebacker Tatum Bethune quickly nixed any comparisons between Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride and 49ers counterpart George Kittle.
“Nah, nah, not at all. George, nobody is similar to George,” Bethune said. “George is a unicorn.”
McBride, however, is the NFL’s only tight end in Kittle’s pay grade.
Three seasons into his career, McBride parlayed his first Pro Bowl berth into the NFL’s richest contract ever for a tight end, signing a four-year, $76 million pact on April 3.
A few weeks later, Kittle surpassed that and agreed to a four-year, $76.4 million extension.
It’s McBride, however, who could mean more to his respective team come Sunday’s game between the host Cardinals (3-6) and the 49ers (6-4).
Because smothering McBride is the No. 1 key to victory for the 49ers, we’ll dive deeper into that matchup, but first let’s quickly rattle off the other four keys:
No. 2: Protect Brock Purdy’s right big toe from another relapse while also using his mobility to elude Josh Sweat (eight sacks) and the interior push of 18th-year veteran Calais Campbell and rookie Walter Nolen.
No. 3: Spring Christian McCaffrey for his first run over 16 yards all season and further pound a Cardinals defense that faced 46 runs and allowed 198 yards in last Sunday’s 44-22 beatdown in Seattle.
No. 4: Stop Jacoby Brissett on third down, where he’s delivered the NFL’s best conversion rate (50.9%) over his past four starts while throwing 144 consecutive passes overall since last getting intercepted.
No. 5: Avoid turnovers, whether that goes for Purdy (eight interceptions his past five starts) or any other ballcarrier, which will include his fellow Arizona native Ricky Pearsall also returning from a six-game hiatus to bolster their receiving corps beyond McCaffrey and Kittle.
Speaking of Kittle, he’s gotten to know McBride the past two summers while the Cardinals’ catalyst has attended Tight End University that Kittle co-founded in Nashville. “Trey’s awesome. He got paid because he’s a heck of a football player,” Kittle said. “He does everything they need him to do in Arizona. He gets 8-to-14 targets a game and he deserves all those targets.
“He is, in my opinion, the focal point of that offense,” Kittle added. “When he’s clicking and they’re feeding him the ball, he’s getting first downs, he’s bringing the juice.”
With Brissett making his fifth straight start in place of the injury Kyler Murray, the Cardinals won’t have wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Zay Jones, and don’t forget they lost star running back James Conner to a season-ending foot injury in a 16-15 defeat to the 49ers on Sept. 21 at Levi’s Stadium.
“We always had eyes on him, but you know it’s probably coming a lot for sure, now,” Bethune said of McBride’s targets.
Brissett has had his sights set on McBride since replacing Murray, leading to a team-high 46 targets for 32 catches and five touchdowns in that 1-3 stretch.
McBride, overall this season, leads all NFL tight ends with 61 receptions (603 yards). His career-high six touchdowns match his total from his previous three seasons combined. He’s scored in each of the past two meetings with the 49ers.
“You know how hard it is to score,” McBride told AZCardinals.com. “Obviously I haven’t scored a lot in my career. Every time I cross that line, it’s a huge thing for me.”
“McBride is physical,” Bethune said. “Some guys just want it. Most of the plays you see the ball in his hands, he wants it. He wants to make plays.
“We just have to get him to the ground, man,” added Bethune, who leads the NFL with 60 tackles since Week 6. “And on those 50/50 balls, we have to fight to the end and get it out of his hands.”
The 49ers’ linebackers and defensive backs failed in that department last Sunday against the Rams’ four tight ends, two of whom caught touchdowns in their 42-26 road win.
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh wasn’t bashful at comparing McBride to Kittle, saying: “He can block, run. He’s the complete package. Very similar to George in that regard. He’s made a name for himself pretty quick and he’s definitely a player that we’ve got to pay attention to.”