Who Should I Start? Austin Hooper or AJ Barner

Tuesday, July 29, 9:36 PM

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper (undisclosed) returned to practice on Tuesday, according to Evan Lazar of Patriots.com. Hooper had started camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, but he appears to be back in action. The 30-year-old recorded 45 catches for 476 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England in 2024. He's behind Hunter Henry on the Patriots' tight end depth chart, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team use plenty of two tight-end sets now that Josh McDaniels is back in town as the play-caller. Even still, Hooper would need an injury to Henry to crack the radar of fantasy managers.

Sunday, August 10, 4:12 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner has looked "very promising" in training camp practices and is "currently the No. 1 tight end," according to Michael-Shawn Duggar of The Athletic. A fourth-round pick out of Michigan in the 2024 draft, Barner recorded 30 catches for 245 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games (six starts) as a rookie. Seattle released veteran tight end Noah Fant last month, which could be an indication of the confidence the organization has in Barner. However, the Seahawks also used a second-round pick in the 2025 draft at the position when they selected Elijah Arroyo, so Barner will still have in-house competition for targets and playing time.