Who Should I Start? Mo Alie-Cox or Trey McBride

Friday, February 23, 2:30 PM

The Athletic's James Boyd writes that Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox is an easy target if the team wishes to create more salary cap space this offseason. He's entering the final year of a three-year, $17.6 million contract extension that he signed in 2022. Alie-Cox is due the last $5.9 million of that in 2024, but none of it is guaranteed. The 30-year-old is the team's best blocking tight end and has recorded at least three touchdowns in each of the last three seasons, but he's not getting any younger and is unlikely to develop into a true No. 1 pass-catching tight end at this point of his career. Both Will Mallory and third-year tight end Jelani Woods, who missed all of 2023 with hamstring issues, give the Colts more upside at the position amid their current youth movement. Alie-Cox hasn't been much more than a low-upside, touchdown-dependent TE2 option for fantasy managers in deep leagues.

Saturday, September 14, 3:48 AM

Tight ends league-wide disappointed in Week 1. As it was, Trey McBride's eight points in half-PPR leagues were still good for a top-10 finish at the position. While his production (five catches for 30 yards) fell short of expectations, fantasy managers found a silver lining in McBride's utilization. The Cardinals deployed their star tight end on 85% of snaps and he led the team with a 29% target share against the Buffalo Bills last week. In Week 2, Arizona plays the Los Angeles Rams, who give up the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends in 2023. McBride is a priority target in the Cardinals' passing attack and should enjoy a more productive game. The 24-year-old is already one of the top options at tight end and should be locked into starting lineups. McBride will be a top-12 tight end in Week 2, and given his usage in Arizona's offense, could find himself at the top by the end of the week.