AJ

Barner

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts fumbled on a tush push attempt in Philadelphia’s 24-15, Week 13 loss to the Bears. He told reporters after the game that it is “becoming tougher and tougher” to run the play. Teams are having more success against it, defensively, than they did previously, while others have begun successfully running it themselves. Several teams turned to using it with tight ends, most notably Seahawks TE AJ Barner moonlighted as a tush push quarterback this season. Barner picked up one touchdown and nine first downs on 11 rushing attempts across the full NFL season. Connor Heyward (Steelers) and Cade Stover (Texans) also ran the play a non-trivial amount of times in 2025. It is still possible for teams to submit a ban proposal, but at this point, McKay does not “envision it” happening this offseason.

The No. 121 overall pick of the 2024 Draft, Barner had a solid rookie season but upgraded as a sophomore, turning his initial 30/245/4 line into 52/519/6. The 23-year-old was a consistent big-play threat down the stretch, and finished third on his Super Bowl squad in yards. Quietly, he was also the TE14 by total PPR points. Considering his youth and steady early-career trajectory, Barner could easily ascend to TE1 status in 2026. He is an exciting dynasty league asset.

Barner hasn’t crossed 50 yards since Week 11 and is mostly a touchdown-or-bust tight end for fantasy purposes, plus or minus a few tush pushes a game. There’s certainly little reason to expect him to expand on that role in Super Bowl LX.

He wasn’t targeted as the Seahawks attempted just 17 passes. Barner converted a third-down on a tight end tush push. Seattle’s best option at tight end will continue to remain dependent on touchdowns to be a fantasy option, and that very much includes next week’s NFC Championship match.

There simply wasn’t enough passing yards for Seattle to build more than this for the second-year tight end. Barner ends the regular season with a thud, but ends the regular season with a 52/519 receiving line that more than doubles his rookie season receiving records. With 10 touchdowns in 34 games, he’s become a reasonable touchdown-or-bust TE2.

The Seahawks face the 49ers on Saturday. The winner secures both wins the NFC West and earns the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. Barner has developed into a reliable contributor in the Seahawks’ passing game despite playing through multiple injuries this year. He is a boom-bust TE1 for the occasion.

Barner went nine games without a touchdown before scoring each of the past two weeks. Today’s was a 17-yard catch-and-run off play-action in the red zone. Now catching 3-4 passes every week, Barner is an important real-life contributor who could become a bigger fantasy factor during the 2026 season.

Barner — not exactly known for his elite athleticism — made Kam Kitchens look silly on a wide-open touchdown connection with Sam Darnold in the fourth. The 23-year-old is the clear top tight end in the passing game with Elijah Arroyo unavailable, but it was the case even with Arroyo healthy. Barner will again be on the TE1 cusp for Week 17 against the Panthers.

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.