Arizona Cardinals rookie QB Clayton Tune is set to start his first NFL game on Sunday vs. the Cleveland Browns in Week 9. Last week, TE Trey McBride had a breakout game with QB Joshua Dobbs under center. Now, Dobbs is in Minnesota and Tune is taking the snaps with QB Kyler Murray waiting in the wings to return. We go over whether or not McBride is worth playing in fantasy football this week.
Fantasy Football analysis: Cardinals TE Trey McBride
McBride finished last week with 10 catches on 14 targets for 95 yards and a TD. He played a hefty 82% of the offensive snaps as the primary TE with Zach Ertz on IR.
Start or sit in Week 9 PPR leagues?
Start. McBride isn’t a bad streaming option at TE if you had Ertz or have a bye-week player like Sam LaPorta. We can’t expect production like last week now that Dobbs isn’t on the roster. But Tune should look to his TE often as a safety valve. McBride will be on the field enough and should see a heavy amount of targets. It may not look like last week, but McBride should be a decent PPR option.
Start or sit in Week 9 standard leagues?
Sit. McBride likely doesn’t get in the end zone considering the matchup vs. Cleveland. The Browns allow points but limit yards, allowing the fewest yards per game this season. That’s against the NFL average and the Cardinals are towards the bottom of that spectrum. McBride would need heavy volume like last week or to score. Both of those don’t seem very likely. If you NEED to play McBride as a streamer, again, he’ll be on the field a ton, which isn’t bad.
Player(s) you would start ahead of Trey McBride
ESPN’s TE PPR Rankings have McBride as a top-10 TE this week. That seems generous to say the least. McBride is a decent start in PPR but gets dropped down in non-PPR. Jake Ferguson and Logan Thomas feel like better options if you’re in a shallow league.