The Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the NFL will open their training camps later this month. As we do every summer around this time, we look at the NFC West players and position groups and rank them.
Here we focus on the four top tight ends in the division between the Arizona Cardinals, LA Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
There are two great ones and two pretty average ones.
Here is how they rank in 2025.
NFC West 2025 TE rankings
1. George Kittle, 49ers
While Trey McBride had a monster season, Kittle is hard to supplant. After all, at age 31, he had his third-highest reception total and second-highest yardage total, catching 78 passes for 1,106 yards. His eight touchdown catches were also the second-most in a season in his career.
He did that while staying in to pass block on pass plays more than he has in his career. We also know he is a great run blocker. McBride might have had more catches, but Kittle is still the class of the NFC West.
2. Trey McBride, Cardinals
He could pass Kittle, but being No. 2 isn’t even close. He is far and away better than the rest of the starting tight ends.
He set a franchise record for receptions by a tight end with 111, breaking the previous record he set in 2023. He only caught two touchdown passes, which was fluky. He did rush for one and recover a fumble in the end zone for a score, so he scored four times.
What’s crazy is that it doesn’t feel like he has even reached his ceiling, even though he probably can’t produce much more than he did last year.
3. Noah Fant, Seahawks
Fant is just a decent NFL tight end. He isn’t special at any particular thing. He had 48 receptions for 500 yards and a score in 2024. He is 27 years old and healthier, which gives him the edge over the final guy on this list.
4. Tyler Higbee, Rams
Higbee only played in three games last season and had eight catches for 66 yards and two scores. He is an above-average tight end but not great. He is also 32 years old.
Fant and Higbee are perfectly interchangeable in these rankings.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Trey McBride’s TE ranking in NFC West revealed