Barner caught three of four targets for 24 yards and rushed once for a one-yard touchdown in Sunday's 38-14 win over the Commanders.
Barner took a direct snap in the third quarter and plowed into the end zone to extend the Seahawks' lead to 38-7. The second-year tight end continues to operate as the clear No. 1 on the depth chart ahead of rookie Elijah Arroyo, as Barner played 43 of 51 offensive snaps (84 percent) and finished tied for second on the team in targets. He's scored five touchdowns through eight games, but has averaged just 29.5 receiving yards per game.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Held to one catch
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Barner caught one pass on three targets for seven yards in Monday's 27-19 win over the Texans.
There has been little target volume for anyone this season in the Seattle passing game behind lead wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but Barner has served as the top tight end with 18 catches for 212 yards (third on the team) and four touchdowns (tied for first). Barner continues to impress as a blocker and should maintain a high snap count as a result. He needs to find the end zone to pay off for fantasy purposes, though.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Long catch and run Sunday
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Barner secured all three targets for 71 yards in the Seahawks' 20-12 win over the Jaguars on Sunday.
Barner finished in the relatively unfamiliar position of second in receiving yardage and tied with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the longest reception of the game. That catch covered a distance of 61 yards on the first play of Seattle's game-clinching drive, with Barner getting loose down the middle of the field after making the reception and taking the ball down to the Jaguars' 12-yard line. Barner has now set new single-game season highs in receiving yards in three consecutive contests, but he's typically much more of a shorter-area target for Sam Darnold and will remain a complementary pass-catching option in a tough Week 7 home matchup against the Texans on Monday night, Oct. 20.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Week 6 Waiver Priority List
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Barner has scored three touchdowns in his past two games and four times in his past four outings. In Week 5 against Tampa Bay, he was featured with seven targets, and he finished with seven catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. We'll see if that continues moving forward, but Barner is worth adding in all leagues for up to 5 percent of your remaining FAB to find out. He should be considered a low-end starter in Week 6 at Jacksonville.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Stays hot with career game Sunday
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Barner hauled in all seven of his targets for 53 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 38-35 loss to the Buccaneers.
Barner followed up his best fantasy score of the season with a career game against the Commanders in Week 5, setting new personal single-game bests in receptions, yards and touchdowns. The surging sophomore nearly doubled his entire season production in the standout effort, bringing his receiving line up to 14-134-4 through five starts. Barner's rostered percentage in fantasy will surely skyrocket heading into next Sunday's tilt against Jacksonville.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Finds end zone again
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Barner caught all three targets for 32 yards and a touchdown in Thursday's 23-20 win over the Cardinals.
The Seahawks are dedicated to using two-TE sets, and Barner continues to serve as the lead tight end with an 86 percent snap share. He's starting to look like a compelling red-zone target for QB Sam Darnold with two targets in four games, but his floor remains quite low, as the second-year tight end has never produced more than 34 yards in a game.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: One catch in blowout win
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Barner caught his lone target for 23 yards in Sunday's 44-13 win over the Saints.
Barner played just 52 percent of the offensive snaps while rookie Elijah Arroyo handled 50 percent, but the split was likely due to the blowout nature of the game rather than a changing of the guard at Seattle's tight-end position. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Barner has produced four receptions for 49 yards through three games this season.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Scores in Sunday's win
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Barner caught two of three targets for 26 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-17 win over the Steelers.
The second-year tight end caught a seven-yard touchdown on the Seahawks' first drive of the second half. Barner continues to handle a massive workload, as he logged an 89 percent snap share in Week 2 compared to rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo's 39 percent mark. Still, that has translated to just six targets through two weeks for Barner. The Michigan product wasn't known for his pass-catching abilities in college, but he should continue to see high snap counts due to his run-blocking acumen.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Gains 13 yards in win
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Barner caught his lone target for 13 yards in Sunday's 30-18 win over the Cardinals.
Barner caught a short checkdown from QB Geno Smith and used his physicality to gain extra yards after the catch. The rookie fourth-round pick recorded a 38 percent snap share as the Seahawks' No. 2 tight end.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Scores in comeback win
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Barner caught two passes (two targets) for 14 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 26-21 win over the Jets.
With Noah Fant (groin) back in the lineup, Barner reverted to No. 2 tight-end duties, recording a 40 percent snap share. Barner -- a rookie fourth-round pick -- reeled in a 12-yard pass from Geno Smith in the second quarter to get the Seahawks on the scoreboard. He doesn't have much upside in his current role unless he finds the end zone.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Remaining top tight end Sunday
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Barner is slated to remain the top option at tight end for the Seahawks in Sunday's game against the Cardinals with Noah Fant (groin) inactive for the contest.
The rookie fourth-round pick wasn't able to do much with expanded opportunity during Fant's first two absences in Weeks 9 and 11, generating a modest 6-42 line on 11 targets. Nevertheless, Barner should continue to profile as the top pass-catching option at his position versus Arizona, with veteran Pharaoh Brown also mixing in.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Replacing Fant again
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Barner's teammate Noah Fant (groin) has been ruled out for Sunday's game at San Francisco, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic reports.
Fant previously missed a Week 9 loss to the Rams in which Barner played 91 percent of snaps and caught four of seven targets for 27 yards. It was Barner's first time with more than 48 percent snap share or three targets in an NFL game, with his role being larger than what Fant handles when healthy. Fant now is missing another game after a Week 10 bye, but Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald told Dugar on Friday that he doesn't expect the veteran tight end to be placed on injured reserve.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Puts up 34 yards
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Barner caught both of his targets for 34 yards in Sunday's 31-10 loss to the Bills.
The rookie fourth-round pick continued to play a meaningful role in the Seahawks' offense with a 40 percent snap share in Week 8. Barner appears far from vaulting over Noah Fant for the starting tight-end role, as the former has yet to surpass three targets in a game this year.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Returns from injury
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Barner (hamstring) practiced with the team Monday, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.
The tight end sat out of rookie minicamp and missed OTAs at the end of May due to the injury. Now that he's back, the fourth-round pick can try to earn a role on a depth chart that also includes veterans Noah Fant and Pharaoh Brown.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Missing time with hamstring injury
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Barner won't participate in OTAs this week due to a hamstring injury, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports.
Barner missed all of rookie minicamp with the injury and still hasn't made a full recovery. Though Barner will lose out on some valuable reps prior to training camp, the Seahawks haven't indicated that the injury is anything that will affect the fourth-round rookie's availability heading into the 2024 season. Barner will look to push for playing time behind veteran tight ends Noah Fant and Pharaoh Brown after the Seahawks let Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson walk in free agency.
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Seahawks' AJ Barner: Tremendous landing spot in Seattle
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The Seahawks selected Barner in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 121st overall.
Barner tallied just 64 receptions, 610 yards and five touchdowns across 20 collegiate starts with both Indiana and Michigan over his four seasons, but it's fair to dream about what the tantalizing 6-foot-6 frame coupled with the tight end crop's largest wingspan could do as a pass catcher at the NFL level. Barner is a bit lean (251 pounds) for his height and didn't showcase the type of wild athleticism that so many of his peers did at the NFL Combine, but the Big Ten pedigree will always attract a certain organizational philosophy regardless if the production is there. Expect Barner to compete with a number of veteran flotsam for the No. 2 TE job behind the newly re-signed Noah Fant.
