Two games into Mike LaFleur's first season as head coach, one thing about the Arizona Cardinals is clear: Trey McBride gets the ball, whatever else happens. He has 17 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns. He has scored in both games and led the team in targets both times. For fantasy managers, that is the safest floor at tight end. For Arizona, it may be the only reliable part of the passing game.
The opener showed McBride at his best. He caught nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown in a 26-14 upset of the Los Angeles Chargers, and he led the Cardinals in catches, yards and touchdowns. His 3-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter came while Arizona was protecting a 16-14 lead. The Cardinals held the ball for more than 37 minutes and outgained the Chargers 393-268. LaFleur became the first Cardinals head coach to win his debut since Don Coryell in 1973.
Week 2 went the other way for everyone else. Seattle won 31-7 in Arizona's home opener. Jacoby Brissett completed 17 of 28 passes for only 95 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. McBride still caught eight passes on 10 targets, and his touchdown was the only one Arizona scored. But those eight catches produced just 41 yards. So the "hot start" needs a qualifier. McBride's volume and scoring are elite, but in the loss he averaged about five yards per catch against a defense that took away anything downfield.
None of this is new. McBride finished 2025 with 126 catches, a single-season record for a tight end, plus 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is also the first tight end with back-to-back 100-catch seasons. After the opener, he was tied with Kellen Winslow Sr. and Antonio Gates with 38 career games of at least five catches within his first five seasons. Only Jimmy Graham, with 46, has more. So the question for 2026 is not whether McBride will stay involved. It is whether his production still counts for as much in an offense where Brissett is under center and so little else is working.
That brings in Michael Wilson, and a premise worth correcting. The popular argument is that McBride's target share opens space for Wilson. Wilson's 2025 numbers support part of that. He broke out with 78 catches for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns, and he and McBride became the first Cardinals duo with 1,000 receiving yards each since 2015. Wilson was the first Arizona receiver to top 1,000 yards since DeAndre Hopkins in 2020. The two clearly produced side by side.
But the box scores do not show McBride freeing Wilson in 2026. Wilson caught five of seven targets for 56 yards in the opener, a solid day while McBride dominated. Against Seattle, with McBride again on the receiving end of 10 targets, Wilson caught two of seven for 18 yards. According to NBC Sports' fantasy analysis, two of the incompletions were wiped out by Seahawks pass interference and Brissett overthrew him on at least two others. That points to a quarterback and matchup problem more than a sign that McBride created or took away Wilson's chances. Wilson's biggest game of his career also came without much help from the rest of the receivers. He had 15 catches for 185 yards against San Francisco in Week 11 last season with Marvin Harrison Jr. out injured.
The healthier way to read the relationship is this: McBride sets the floor, and Wilson and Harrison set the ceiling. Arizona won the game in which a third option stepped up. Kendrick Bourne caught all eight of his targets for 75 yards against the Chargers. Arizona lost the game in which McBride was nearly the whole plan. Harrison, the former top-five pick, had zero catches on one target against Seattle. If defenses can crowd McBride underneath without paying for it on the outside, his catches turn into short gains, like his 41-yard day, instead of drive-changing plays.
That is why McBride staying at this level matters, but not the only thing that matters. His consistency keeps drives alive for a quarterback who is not going to stretch defenses often. The Cardinals need the version from the opener, when his catches came alongside a working offense, not a lone bright spot in a blowout. Wilson, fresh off a three-year, $75 million extension signed on Sept. 3 with $47 million guaranteed, is paid to be the downfield answer that makes coverage on McBride costly.
The next test comes Sunday, Sept. 27, at Levi's Stadium against the 49ers, a matchup that has been good to both players. McBride had 10 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown in the last meeting, and Wilson's career game came against the same opponent.
For fantasy purposes, McBride remains a must-start TE1 no matter the matchup, given his target share. Wilson, after consecutive seven-target games, fits as a WR3 or flex whose results depend on Brissett completing downfield throws. If Wilson hits in San Francisco, the argument that the two help each other will finally have 2026 evidence behind it. Until then, McBride is doing the heavy lifting on his own.