Gathering his fellow tight ends together recently, Elijah Higgins delivered a message.
"If you're not Trey McBride," Higgins said, "you should be making an effort to put a guy into the ground every single game."
McBride, arguably the best tight end in the NFL, is going to be the Cardinals' top receiving target. But tight end is more than that, and the Cardinals – like many teams around the league – need more than one tight end to make it all go.
Call it a tight-end renaissance. Fox Sports extrapolated that tight ends across the league are on pace to score 269 touchdowns this season, up more than 60 percent than just two years ago. Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur was on the Rams' staff last season when an abrupt turn into using a lot of 13 personnel (one back, three tight ends) boosted the team's offense.
Defenses are playing umbrella defenses more often, with two-high safeties. The answer has been to load up with bigger players, and two tight ends (or more) make sense.
"There are a lot of factors," LaFleur said. "It's almost like you knew what was going to happen in the first two days of the draft (when nine tight ends were taken). You knew there would be an overcommitment to tight ends."
In 2025, under offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, the Cardinals used 12 personnel 29 percent of the time and 13 personnel 10.5 percent of the time. In the much smaller sample size this year (so small that LaFleur said of all statistics right now they are merely a "mirage"), the Cardinals have used 12 personnel 11.5 percent of the time but 13 personnel 17.5 percent of the time.
(On the snaps including tackle Jayden Williams as a "tight end," the 13 personnel percentage jumps to 22.5 percent.)
McBride is going to catch his 100 balls. But there is work for everyone else.
"It was understanding how you can create value for yourself," Higgins said. "Especially coming to an organization where we have, if not the best tight end In the league he's the one running routes. How can I create value for myself and take ownership of that?"
Higgins, veteran Hunter Long and, eventually, Tip Reiman will be in the equation.
Higgins relates their work to old-school basketball player Dennis Rodman of the Bad Boy Pistons and Michael Jordan's Bulls. If Rodman scored more than four points, it was an upset. But he'd grab all the rebounds and wear down the opponent as much as possible.
"That's the role I'm taking ownership of," Higgins said.
Like the wide receivers have noted for themselves, Higgins said he has been more involved in the run game this season than he had combined in his first three seasons. Part of that is the absence of Reiman, a player LaFleur wanted so much in Los Angeles that he was mad when the Cardinals took him.
Now LaFleur has him and has already said is the one tight end that can actually move people as a blocker.
But LaFleur said McBride doesn't get enough credit as a blocker. McBride called Higgins a "warrior" when it comes to that part of the game – impressive for a former college wide receiver – and Long proved to LaFleur when both were with the Rams he was capable.
"There is more responsibility put upon us whether we are in 12, 11 or 13," Higgins said. "We are involved in the run game, point of attack, pass pro, and obviously out running routes. Compared to the last three years we have so much more responsibility as a tight end unit. It's a cool thing."
And just for the record, McBride can put someone in the ground Higgins-style, if needed.
"I could, yeah," McBride said with a grin. "I try to conserve some energy. I play a lot of snaps. I have it in me and I will every once in a while. But only certain occasions."
