Few Thursday Night Football matchups hold as much weight as the one we’re getting tonight. The Los Angeles Rams are traveling to face the Seattle Seahawks in a matchup that could decide the NFC West champion and the No. 1 seed in the conference. Both teams will be going full tilt, and that means a loaded player prop market. Here, I’ll detail my favorite prop bet for Seahawks tight end AJ Barner.
Both teams have -110 Moneyline odds going into this evenly matched game. The points total is set at O/U 44.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Below is my favorite Barner prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook for Thursday’s game.
Best AJ Barner Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Barner is quietly having a breakout season in this revamped Seattle offense. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba shredding teams over the top and across the middle of the field, there’s plenty of opportunity in the flats and up the seams for a player like Barner. He’s taking advantage consistently.
Of all tight ends to run at least 250 routes, Barner is 13th in yards per route run and 11th in targets per route run. He remains a consistent target for Sam Darnold. The one thing Barner lacks is true downfield juice since of the 25 tight ends with 250 routes run, he’s 24th in average depth of target.
That upside is handicapped further by this Rams defense. They have strong coverage linebackers and a good secondary that will look to take away the big plays while stuffing the run. This limits Barner’s ability to get downfield, but it does improve his outlook in the short passing game.
Odds are, facing this elite Rams offense, the Seahawks will have a pass-heavy game script at times. Sam Darnold is no stranger to taking his checkdowns and focusing on short gains. When he’s taking what the defense gives him, that will often be Barner. Count on a high-volume game from Seattle’s starting tight end and consider taking him to record 5+ receptions at plus odds.
