Who Should I Start? AJ Barner or Terrance Ferguson

Saturday, January 3, 6:21 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner has picked up his play over the last few weeks. Barner has taken over as the primary tight end in this offense with Elijah Arroyo (knee) being sidelined since Week 15. Since then, Barner has hauled in 10 receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns. The 23-year-old has been making the most of his increased playing time. He should be able to offer at least high-end TE2 value for the upcoming Week 18 matchup versus the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks need to win to secure the No. 1 seed, so Barner should see a full workload.

Tuesday, January 20, 8:58 PM

Los Angeles Rams rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson scored his second and third touchdowns in back-to-back weeks at the end of the regular season before Tyler Higbee returned from Injured Reserve. Then Ferguson injured his hamstring, which caused him to miss the Week 18 regular-season finale and the Wild-Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles. In the 22-year-old's return in the Divisional Round win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Ferguson caught just one of a season-high five targets for 19 yards. There's plenty to like about Ferguson's long-term outlook, but right now, he's just too hard to trust when he's fighting for targets alongside Colby Parkinson and Higbee. During the regular season, Ferguson had a total of just 11 receptions for 231 yards and three touchdowns on 25 targets. The matchup against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game this weekend is a decent one, but Ferguson is unlikely to return value unless he scores.