Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride had a breakout season in 2024, and he’ll surely be among those his team will be counting on in the coming 2025 NFL campaign. Together with dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray, McBride forms a dangerous tandem in the Cardinals’ passing attack, which averaged 214.1 yards per contest last season.
There is still potential for McBride to elevate his game. The same can be said about what he and Murray can do as a duo. There’s a clear gold standard today for a connection between a quarterback and a tight end, and it’s none other than the Kansas City Chiefs tandem of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Together, Mahomes and Kelce won three Super Bowl titles with the Chiefs

Murray and McBride are not even remotely close to what Mahomes and Kelce achieved as a duo, but the Cardinals tight end believe he and Murray have what it takes to have at least the kind of connection that Mahomes and Kelce have.
“Travis, he would always give us his nuggets on being friendly to the quarterback,” McBride said on ESPN (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).
“Make sure you and your quarterback are on the same page. He plays with a little freedom. Him and Mahomes have a nice connection and I kind of took that and was like, ‘Why can’t Kyler and I have that same connection?’ I feel like that’s what I’ve tried to do. I’ve tried to have that same relationship and that growth with Kyler and just continue to make plays for him and be that security blanket where if he needs somewhere to go with the ball, he always can throw it to me and that’s what I’m trying to do for him.”

Fans react to Arizona Cardinals TE’s claim

McBride’s vision for him and Murray on the field is attainable, given their relative youth and talent, but some fans just are not buying it based on their comments on ESPN’s post about it.
View this post on Instagram
“Kyler don’t care enough about football sadly”
“Bc he’s not Pat and you’re not Kelce”
“Kyler is buns maybe?????”
“At best you’re the Temu version.”
“Because yall aren’t as good”
“Dude scored 2 touchdowns in 17 games bro ain’t no connection”

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