AJ

Barner

Barner saw a full-time role with Elijah Arroyo on injured reserve. He ran a route on 32 of the Seahawks’ 41 drop backs against the Colts and was third on the team with six targets. Seattle’s lack of pass volume will make it tough to rely on Barner as a viable 12-team option. In Week 16 he’ll take on a Rams defense that gave up 10 catches for 70 yards to Barner in mid-November. He’ll be in play as a streaming option against LA.

Arroyo sustained a knee injury last week and was sent to season-ending injured reserve. That leaves AJ Barner as the only healthy pass-catching tight end for Seattle. He makes for a usable streaming option in 12-team leagues against a Colts defense that has been vulnerable to tight ends for much of the season.

Arroyo has been ruled out, as expected, after injuring his knee last week. Seahawks starting TE AJ Barner is a TE1 streaming option, though his weekly box score results have been very volatile. Barner occasionally takes snaps as the team’s tush-push quarterback.

Macdonald told reporters earlier this week that it was unlikely Arroyo would suit up on Sunday. His comments today all but confirm that. A.J. Barner will see a full complement of routes with Arroyo sidelined. Barner is a low-end TE2 heading into Week 15.

Barner caught 10 passes for 70 yards in Week 11. He has since caught nine balls for 80 yards in his subsequent three appearances. Barner is an elite blocker and even picks up the occasional rush attempt on the tush push. As a fantasy asset, he leaves a lot to be desired. The Seahawks don’t throw often, and when they do it typically goes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Barner, in turn, will be stuck in the TE2 ranks for the forseeable future.

Barner totaled five and four targets, respectively, over the last two weeks. He occasionally lines up as the quarterback on the Seahawks’ tush-push attempts. He is likely to handle a similar workload this week against the Falcons, making him a touchdown-dependent TE1.

Barner is good to go for the Seahawks’ Week 14 game against the Falcons. Seattle’s low passing volume keeps Barner from the weekly TE1 ranks, but he has proven himself as a capable player and remains a touchdown-scoring candidate each week.

Barner popped up on the injury report nursing both knee and shoulder injuries Wednesday. He was limited, indicating the 23-year-old tight end is still trending to play in Week 14. Barner’s usage makes him a solid TE2 option if he plays against the Falcons on Sunday.

Barner has taken on the unquestioned TE1 role in the Seattle offense. On Sunday against the Vikings he ran a route on 25 of the Seahawks’ 32 drop backs and was second on the team in targets. Elijah Arroyo logged just nine routes against Minnesota. While it will require an increase in pass volume for Barner to be a legit 12-team fantasy option, his usage is good enough for fantasy managers to roster him in deeper formats. He gets the Falcons in Week 14.

Coming off an 11-target sugar high in last week’s comeback-aided game script against the Rams, Barner came back down to earth as the Seahawks didn’t have to open the offense up against the Titans. He has now posted four-or-fewer targets in five of his past six appearances. Last week, of course, was the biggest of exceptions. Barner has proven he has some fantasy juice, but it needs to be the proper game environment, and that is highly unlikely to develop for Week 13 against the Vikings.