Colby Parkinson vs Trey McBride: Who Should You Start?
Trey McBride and Colby Parkinson are at different tiers heading into 2026. The Arizona Cardinals tight end averaged 14.9 PPG in 2025, a full 7.7 points per game ahead of Colby Parkinson's 7.2 with the Los Angeles Rams. That kind of gap doesn't close on matchup alone.
A 7.7-PPG gap gives Trey McBride the edge on paper, but paper does not account for Thursday night matchups, weather games, or a star defender returning from injury. The real question is not who was better in 2025, but who is the better start this specific week.
Trey McBride is the volume tight end in this matchup with 126 receptions for 1239 yards, while Colby Parkinson profiles as a more touchdown-dependent spike play (8 scores on 43 catches). In weeks where Colby Parkinson finds the end zone he out-scores Trey McBride, but the floor gap is real.
Colby Parkinson has his bye in Week 6, and Trey McBride rests in Week 11. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at tight end for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
