Zach Ertz held the record for seven years. Before that, nobody really tracked tight end receptions with the same obsession reserved for quarterbacks and wide receivers. The position was about blocking first, catching second.
Trey McBride just rewrote that narrative entirely.
With his 117th reception of the season—a modest 5-yard gain from Jacoby Brissett in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati—the Arizona Cardinals tight end officially became the most prolific pass-catcher at his position in a single NFL season. Ever.
He finished Sunday with 119 catches. Ertz had 116 with Philadelphia in 2018. That's not a marginal improvement. That's a statement.
The quiet dominance nobody talks about
Arizona is 3-13. Their starting quarterback got benched. Their first-round receiver hasn't taken the leap everyone expected. The national conversation about the Cardinals mostly involves how badly things went wrong.
And in the middle of all that chaos, McBride showed up every single week.
"I don't really think about it. The more you think about it, I think the worse you play," McBride told reporters before the record-breaking game. "I just want to go out there and do what I've been doing all year."
What he's been doing: 119 receptions, 1,174 yards, 11 touchdowns. All career highs. All while defenses knew exactly where the ball was going.
The numbers that matter
McBride didn't break Ertz's record on volume alone. He broke it while being the most targeted player on a struggling offense:
- 28.4% target share since becoming a starter in 2023
- Eight games this season with 8+ receptions
- Second consecutive 1,000-yard season
- First tight end in NFL history with back-to-back 110+ reception seasons
That last stat deserves extra attention. Nobody has ever done what McBride is doing right now at this position. Not Kelce in his prime. Not Gronkowski. Not Tony Gonzalez across his Hall of Fame career.
Chemistry with Brissett unlocked something
When Kyler Murray went down and Jacoby Brissett took over, many expected the offense to collapse. The opposite happened for McBride.
Brissett looked for his tight end constantly. On scrambles. On broken plays. On third downs when nothing else was open. The veteran backup quarterback found a reliable target and leaned on him hard.
That partnership produced some of McBride's most productive games of the season, including his record-breaker in Cincinnati.
What comes next
Arizona has one game remaining against the Rams. McBride needs just 31 more yards to pass Hall of Famer Jackie Smith's franchise single-season record of 1,205 yards, set in 1967.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon kept it simple after Sunday's loss: "I'm proud of him. He shows up to work every day and battles. He's one of the best players out there."
McBride wasn't as celebratory. "One hundred percent. It's tough. I wish I was more excited about it right now, but... right now, it's frustrating."
That frustration is the mark of a competitor. Breaking records doesn't mean much when your team is picking in the top five of the draft. But make no mistake—McBride just did something that will stand for years.
The tight end position has officially entered a new era. And McBride is leading it.
Sources: NFL.com, CBS Sports, Arizona Sports