TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike LaFleur has seen Trey McBride's type before.
From 2017 to 2020, LaFleur was the San Francisco 49ers' pass-game coordinator, developing an air scheme that included a young tight end named George Kittle. In those four seasons playing in LaFleur's passing game -- the first four of his career -- Kittle had the most yards per target and yards per route among tight ends; second-most receiving yards, receiving yards per game and target percentage; and third-most receptions, targets and yards per receptions.
All while establishing himself as one of the top tight ends in the NFL.
Now, six years later, after not having an elite tight end at his disposal since his days with Kittle, LaFleur takes over the Arizona Cardinals and an All-Pro in McBride.
"I love Trey," LaFleur said. "I think the sky's the limit for this guy. I really do, and I can say that because again, he's made of the right stuff."
LaFleur has seen that stuff before in Kittle, one of the tight ends who McBride has longed admired and aspired to be like before becoming one of his peers performance- and skill-wise.
Tight ends at the level of McBride and Kittle are "cut from the same cloth," LaFleur said, which, to say, is a different cloth than the rest of the tight ends.
"Trey and George are two of the coolest guys to just talk to off the field," LaFleur said. "Then they put that helmet on and they're still really cool to talk to and whatnot, but they kind of got that look in their eye and that's not just on Sundays for 17 weeks. That's the way they approach the game and practice and all those kind of things.
SportsCenter segment on the Arizona Cardinals offseason, including a one-on-one with Trey McBridge from TEU. pic.twitter.com/0Zi3yKA5Af
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"I'd say that's kind of what has stood out. Tight ends in general that are really good are a little bit cut from a different cloth. You got to. I mean, you're in every facet. You're a glorified lineman at times and you're a receiver at times and you're going to play in between those numbers. And when you play in between those numbers, a lot of things can happen and those guys embrace that."
It all comes down to willingness, McBride added.
And blocking. A lot of blocking.
"It really starts in the run game," McBride said. "You have to be able to block to play tight end. I know I catch a ton of balls, but you have to block in this league. You have to be able to put your hand in the dirt and get down and get gritty. It's part of the game. And I think that's something, before I was catching all the balls, that's what I was doing. I was a blocking guy. I did a lot of that stuff.
"So, I think that's where it starts is being able to want to and have that willingness to get down and get dirty and do that stuff. And then that's what opens up you in the pass game to get open and be able to do that. But the tight end position is just a lot of want to and that's what it boils down to."
In the few weeks he worked with McBride on the field this offseason through OTAs and minicamps, LaFleur learned a lot about his prized tight end, from McBride's instincts to his spatial awareness to his blocking skill.
"I always thought some of the better players that I've been around and, name that sport, their spatial awareness is just different," LaFleur said. "They understand it. They can feel people around them and they react differently and they give great indicators, in this case, to the quarterback to allow you to know where he's going to be. So, his feel's been great."
Despite having a career season in 2025, McBride has been continuing to develop.
"Every team plays you a little bit different, whether they're chipping you at the line, whether they have a safety over the top, but really identifying who's covering you and how your route affects who's covering you," McBride said. "And I think that's something I've gotten better at and I'm still trying to get better at is who am I trying to beat on this play and how much free will do I have to beat this guy?
"And being able to digest that as fast as I can and be able to play at a high level, play fast is very important, and I just try to run fast and get open and hopefully the ball finds me, and more often than not it does."
Quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who Arizona signed as a free agent in March, played last season with the Kansas City Chiefs, sharing a locker room with Travis Kelce. And the year before, he was with the Las Vegas Raiders, who have their own elite tight end in Brock Bowers.
Over the past three seasons, the top four tight ends in the league in receiving yards per game were Kittle, Bowers, McBride and Kelce, respectively. So, Minshew knows what he's talking about when he heaped praise on McBride earlier this offseason.
"Trey's so good, man," Minshew said. "It's been really cool being around him, seeing, obviously, all the success he had last year, but seeing it first-hand how competitive he is every day, how much, man, his change of direction in and out of brakes, his football IQ, understanding zone, how to win in man.
"He's awesome, man. And, really, all you can ask for in a tight end and think he's set up in this offense to be really productive.