DENVER — Trey McBride continues to show he is the best overall tight end in college football.
Todd McShay tabbed him as his No. 27 prospect in the entire country and No. 1 tight end on his big board prior to the 2021 season, and so far, McBride has only affirmed the high praise from the NFL Draft guru.
Through two games McBride has recorded 21 receptions for 230 yards and a touchdown. His 21 catches is not just the most by any tight end, it’s the most by any player in the FBS this season. His per game average of 10.5 catches ranks first overall as well. His yardage ranks 19th.
From a statistical standpoint what McBride is doing is absolutely wild. He’s producing in a way that other tight ends just aren’t. The only other tight end in the FBS with more than 175 receiving yards right now is Michael Mayer of No. 12 Notre Dame. Out of 130 teams there’s only four tight ends that even have 150 or more receiving yards. So if you’re not getting it yet, McBride has been in a league of his own.
Unfortunately for the team and the Ram faithful that supports them, McBride’s individual success has not been enough to help the Green & Gold overcome its slow start. The Rams got manhandled by an FCS team and then collapsed against a program that contends with Kansas for the title of most embarrassing in the power five.
Regardless, if McBride continues to produce at such an elite level, he’s going to have a terrific opportunity to be a first round draft pick in 2022, even if CSU doesn’t win a single game this year. He’s been that good. NFL teams don’t care about how many bowl games No. 85 got to play in, they’ll only care that he’s an absolute monster on the field.
Obviously playing well will help McBride’s pro stock over the course of the next couple of months, but if he is able to keep this pace through 12 games, the superstar tight end is also going to rewrite the Rams history books. He already tied Joel Dreesen with 10 career touchdown catches — which on a side note — as crappy as the outcome was against Vanderbilt, it was pretty neat to see McBride match his mentor in career scores on the weekend he entered the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
With one more receiving touchdown he’ll tie Kivon Cartwright (11) for the second-most by any Rams tight end. And although unlikely, 11 more would surpass Korey Sperry’s top standing (20).
McBride may not find the end zone enough times this year to break Sperry’s record for all-time TD receptions by a Rams tight end, he very well might be the first one to ever record a 1,000 yard season though. He’s already 23 percent there with 10 games left on the slate, so it’s certainly within the realm of possibility. As is the chance to pass Crockett Gillmore (111), Joel Dreesen (123), Korey Sperry (141) and Keli McGregor (153) in all-time catches. McBride is presently sitting at 95 so he has significant work to do, but his production could dip by 4.5 catches per game and he’d still break the record if he played in all of the remaining matchups.
The longwinded point of all of this is that what McBride is doing right now is truly on another level and that he deserves your ultimate support.
McBride could have gone pro after 2020. He wouldn’t have been quite as high of a draft pick but he absolutely would have been selected at some point. He also could have transferred to a power five program at any point in his collegiate career. There have been many that were interested in his services. Through all of it, though, McBride has remained committed to CSU.
It’s clear that this season is not trending in the direction that anyone was hoping for, especially with so many veterans opting to use their extra year of eligibility. At this point I’d be pretty stunned if the Rams won more than two or three games in 2021. Even so, McBride is worth your time every single Saturday.
You might feel dejected, you might feel frustrated about the lack of wins, and all of that is justifiable. But when you have a player that is a true generational talent — which is exactly what Trey McBride is, a once-in-a-generation superstar — you better appreciate what’s in front of you — because you have no idea when another player that special is gonna walk through the doors again. Factoring in his loyalty to the Rams only makes it more true.
I can’t tell you that CSU is going to right the ship any time soon. Doing so would be purely wishful thinking, and it’s safe to say that everyone is currently in “show me” mode. I can tell you that years from now, you’ll still remember how good you felt watching McBride maul over Wyoming defenders during one of the darkest falls of our lifetime. Addazio might not have earned your support yet, but McBride sure as hell should have.
