CSU tight end Trey McBride garnering national attention

With Colorado State finishing near the bottom of the Mountain West Conference this season, it’s not a surprise that Rams looking to make the jump to the NFL often go overlooked.

But this year, CSU standout senior Trey McBride has heads turning toward Fort Collins.

Just last week the Rams tight end was named a finalist for the John Mackey Award, given to the top player in the nation at the position, and on Tuesday he was named to the All-Mountain West First Team along with CSU defensive lineman Scott Patchan.

It’s the second time McBride has earned a first team distinction, and he’s the first Rams tight end to be named to the conference’s top unit twice since fellow Fort Morgan native Joel Dreessen did so in 2002 and 2004. Coincidentally, both Dreessen and McBride were named to the conference’s first team in their sophomore and senior years while landing on the second team their junior seasons.

But while recognition at the conference level is one thing, McBride has garnered a lot of attention on a national scale.

On Monday, Pro Football Focus named McBride the Mountain West Offensive Player of the year, and his 95.0 overall grade is the second highest a player has finished his college career with in the analytics site’s existence. Only 2020 Mackey Award winner Kyle Pitts — a first-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons in April — finished with a higher grade.

And speaking of first-round picks, two of the top NFL Draft experts — ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay — project McBride to potentially go somewhere near the bottom of the first round of this upcoming draft.

Kiper had McBride as his top tight end prospect in his latest 2022 draft rankings, and McShay’s latest projections have the CSU tight end landing in the No. 29-overall spot.

On Tuesday, McShay tweeted that people should “get to know the name Trey McBride,” and that the CSU prospect might be the only tight end taken in the first round.

Get to know the name Trey McBride. Doesn’t get much national attention playing at Colorado St but he’s the best TE in the 2022 draft class. Might be the only 1st round TE. He had 6 catches for 139 yards and a 69-yd run in loss to Nevada on Sat. pic.twitter.com/Vl1GrxbitB

— Todd McShay (@McShay13) November 30, 2021

Having finished his college career with one of the most dominating years by a tight end in FBS history — his 1,121 yards receiving is fifth-most all-time in a single season by a tight end — it’s no wonder McBride’s name has been spoken by the likes of Kiper and McShay.

And soon, his name is likely to be heard early on draft night and on Sundays this coming fall.