Who Should I Start? Ben Sinnott or AJ Barner

Wednesday, September 17, 1:02 AM

Washington Commanders tight end Ben Sinnott looks primed for more playing time in Week 3 against the Raiders with John Bates (groin) unlikely to play, according to head coach Dan Quinn. Bates is Washington's primary blocking tight end and is pivotal to what they do in the run game. Sinnott played only three snaps in the Thursday night loss against Green Bay, but did catch one ball for seven yards. Sinnott has played some in three tight end sets as a move blocker and isn't quite a direct replacement for Bates. Bates is an incredibly stout point of attack blocker for a tight end and is roughly 15 pounds heavier than Sinnott. The 2024 second-round pick is an elite athlete with some intriguing upside as a receiver, but has mostly been used as a move blocker with Washington. We will learn a good bit about how the coaching staff views Sinnott after this week's game.

Friday, September 12, 3:21 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner had a quiet game in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. He will look to bounce back in Week 2 when Seattle visits the Pittsburgh Steelers. Barner caught one of two targets for zero yards in the season opener. That stat line is completely unusable in fantasy, but his 85% snap share was telling. The Seahawks clearly view Barner as their current No. 1 tight end, and no one behind him did anything to threaten that position in the short term. In Barner's defense, only seven of Sam Darnold's 16 completions went to anyone not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba. There was not much to go around in a passing game that was clearly still working through the kinks. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is good at featuring his tight ends. It is only a matter of time before one of the tight ends on this team emerges. With Barner's considerable playing time, he could start to find himself in fantasy relevance. For now, take a wait-and-see approach with Barner remaining on the waiver wire.