In the first eight weeks of the season, no team in the NFL had more pass attempts than the Seahawks. Geno Smith ($5,800) will have to find some new options to work with this week, though, since top WR DK Metcalf (knee) will miss a second straight week and starting TE Noah Fant (groin) was also ruled out. It’s indeed a game of injured WRs, as, on the other side, Rams’ Puka Nacua ($7,200) is still dealing with his knee injury.
But, with regards to the Seahawks—without Metcalf and Fant, rookie tight end AJ Barner ($2,600) has a great chance to step up and make a fantasy impact this week.
Barner’s background
The Seahawks drafted Barner in the fourth round after he had a successful National Championship season with the Michigan Wolverines after transferring in from Indiana. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention with 22 catches for 249 yards and a touchdown.
Barner has been the Seahawks’ second tight end this season, playing 48% of snaps in Week 1 and hovering just below that number most of the year. He has drawn 10 targets in his time on the field and hauled in all 10 of them for a total of 105 yards.
He found the end zone in Week 4 vs. the Lions on Monday Night Football
Homecoming touchdown for Michigan alum AJ Barner #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/rJPwkzhzp1
— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) October 1, 2024
Barner has been a reliable option when called upon and could be called upon a lot more with Fant and Metcalf out. Last week, he had caught both his targets for 34 yards, getting 10+ yards on each catch.
Barner’s forward outlook
The Rams have given up the third-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season. Opposing tight ends have scored three touchdowns against them in the last three weeks averaging 74.3 yards per game on 6.3 catches per game. Part of the reason for those numbers is that they faced Tucker Kraft ($4,600) and the legend that is Brock Bowers ($6,000) during that run, but even Josh Oliver found the end zone against them on Thursday Night Football last week.
Barner is in a great matchup for his first NFL start and is priced at only $2,600 in DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. For DFS play, he’s a smash play at that price with enough of a good ceiling to include him as a FLEX play since he’s cheaper than any wide receiver or running back and can allow you to stuff superstars in other spots.
Depending on how it goes, he could be a great stash going forward too, since the Seahawks have been so pass-heavy. This week, Seattle is 1.5-point home underdogs and Barner is +475 to score a touchdown. The over/under on Barner receptions is 2.5 with the over at -110 and for yards is 23.5 with the over at -115.
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