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AJ Barner 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook: A Touchdown-Dependent Tight End
AJ Barner was an unsung hero on the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks last year. His six touchdown receptions were second on the squad and he added 52 receptions for 519 yards as a safety valve for quarterback Sam Darnold whenever top target Jaxon Smith-Njigba was triple covered. Barner should be in line for another solid season considering Seattle is bringing back the same receiving corps, so his role as a red-zone threat who garners four-to-six targets per week should continue. Second-year man Elijah Arroyo has not shown much as Barner's backup, so Barner should be on the field often. He only ranked 20th at the position in routes run in 2025, though, and there is no reason to think that number will increase in 2026. Barner will be a steady, touchdown-dependent TE2 in fantasy formats again this upcoming year. That is fine, but he is far from a fantasy force. Could Barner see a slight uptick in targets and possibly score seven-to-eight touchdowns? Yes, but it is just as possible that he ends up with only four or five, too.
