DENVER — It was a season full of what-ifs, oh no’s and endless swearing for Colorado State fans. Despite that, when looking back on the 2021 season it will be hard to forget how Trey McBride provided jaw-dropping and otherworldly highlights on a weekly basis.

As McBride leaves Fort Collins for the NFL and football season turns into draft season, it’s clear who the best tight end entering the 2022 NFL Draft is.

The names Wydermyer, Kolar and Ruckert were mentioned more often but no other tight end achieved what Trey McBride was able to do this season.

Stats Don’t Lie

The NFL has seen the emergence of the ultra-versatile and athletic tight end over the last century with names like Gronkowski, Kelce, Kittle and most recently Pitts, showing that they can be enough of a force to lead a passing game and be a factor in the run game.

Of those names, Pitts was the best draft prospect as the other three dealt with injuries or a lack of opportunity in the passing game to completely show off their skill set in college. While Pitts was touted as a “can’t miss prospect” and “the best tight end prospect ever”, his numbers were nowhere close to what McBride was able to achieve in 2021.

McBride finished the 2021 season with 90 receptions of 134 targets for 1121 yards and two total touchdowns (one receiving). Impressive numbers on their own but factor in McBride’s 34.5 percent team target share percentage (according to rotowire.com) and those numbers are insane.

To put McBride’s 2021 team target share percentage into context, his 34.5 percent was good for fourth in the country. Not fourth amongst 2021 tight ends, fourth amongst all FBS wide receivers, tight ends and running backs. McBride played a bigger role in CSU’s passing game than Jahan Dotson, Garrett Wilson and David Bell played in their respective football teams’ passing game.

To give further context, the next closest tight end to McBride in 2021 was Old Dominion’s Zach Kuntz who had a 27.6 team target share percentage and he was targeted 107 times for 70 receptions but only registered 669 yards. In 2020, Kyle Pitts put up a 14.3 team target share percentage and had a stat line of 67 targets for 43 receptions and 770 yards. Kuntz was able to score five touchdowns this season and Pitts put the ball in the end zone 12 times for the Gators last year.

Going back to 2017, McBride is the only tight end to gain more than 30 percent of his team’s target share percentage.

The next closest tight end to McBride’s 2021 team target share percentage was Bowling Green’s Quintin Morris in 2018 at 28.9.

While some may point to the touchdown numbers in an attempt to discredit McBride’s game, it’s important to remember that touchdowns are usually an opportunity stat that can see high volatility year to year.

In many games, Trey McBride was the driving force behind Colorado State’s offense, and more often than not the offense produced as McBride did.

Mr. Reliable

There are many traits that McBride possesses that get talent evaluators excited about the 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end entering the NFL but the most impressive aspect I witnessed was how reliable McBride was in terms of catching the football and moving the chains for the Rams.

You often hear analysts and commentators gush about tight ends when they are able to blur the lines between receiver and tight end by impressing that much in the passing game. Here is one of McBride’s many examples of that. Not only does he catch the ball smoothly and confidently down the field, but McBride also shows nimble feet and the ability to tight rope the sideline.

McBride’s best game displaying this ability this season came against Iowa.

This was a massive play in the context of the game. After review, it was confirmed that McBride was able to catch the football and then contort his body to get upfield and pick up the first down.

One quarter later, McBride was able to pull off an even more insane play. Again, next-level concentration and reliability when it comes to catching the football.

With all due respect to Todd Centeio, there’s a big chance that McBride’s next quarterback will be able to deliver consistently more accurate and on-target throws than McBride was getting this year. Even if he doesn’t, McBride routinely showed that he has a fantastic catch radius.

This time above the rim. McBride elevates and plucks the ball out of the air above his head for a first down.

McBride was a walking, breathing first down for the Rams as he was able to routinely pick up third downs and move the chains on plays designed for him.

Centeio learned early and often that finding McBride usually resulted in good things. McBride started off the 2021 season on fire as he put up 13 receptions for 116 yards against South Dakota State.

Always smooth and under control, McBride picks up this first down with ease as he did countless times in 2021.

This is a situation that I expect McBride’s NFL team to take advantage of often: putting the tight end in one-on-one situations in space. The defender stands no chance as McBride runs a silky smooth route and is able to transition from catch to runner effortlessly. Another Rams’ first down.

Big Play Trey

McBride has the ability to routinely work the short to intermediate areas of the field for easy first downs but he also has the ability to break off massive chunks of yardage and flip the field for his team.

The “leak” concept is a big-play generator for tight ends as they are able to routinely sneak between the second and third levels of the defense as McBride demonstrates here. As always, McBride looks athletic and smooth ripping off another first down this time for a huge gain.

The Rams’ final win of the season came against New Mexico where McBride had his best game of the season going off with seven receptions for 135 yards including this big catch and run. McBride’s ability to pick up yards with the ball in his hands is second to none in the 2022 tight end class.

As mentioned earlier, McBride’s touchdown stats regressed this season but that does not mean he wasn’t active in the red zone. McBride often put his team in a position to score, he just wasn’t the one carrying the ball across the goal line.

Without a doubt, this is my favorite play from McBride this season and I’m sure this is one that will catch the eye of NFL decision-makers and be featured the minute McBride’s name is called on April 28th, 2022.

How High Can He Go?

The debate for 2022 TE1 starts and ends with Trey McBride, but will he be able to earn a first-round draft selection? When you look at current mock draft machines, McBride’s ranking is surprisingly in the triple digits still. McBride may not garner the attention that recent first-round picks Kyle Pitts, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant received but it’s still early in the process.

McBride already accepted an invite to Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl in early 2022. If McBride is still unable to gain first-round momentum by January, a good showing in Mobile could be the start of the rise in McBride’s national draft stock.

ESPN’s Todd McShay has been an adamant supporter of Trey McBride as the best tight end in this class since the summer and has continued to fly the McBride flag high into the post-season.

Worst-case scenario, it’s hard to imagine a timeline where McBride falls to Day 3 or goes undrafted in the 2022 Draft.

Soon enough, NFL and NFL Draft circles will catch on to what we at DNVR and you, Rams fans already know.

Trey McBride is the best tight end in the 2022 NFL Draft.