Who Should I Start? Dalton Schultz or AJ Barner

Sunday, September 14, 7:06 AM

Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz has the potential for a big workload in Week 2, when his team hosts the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. Schultz tied for the team lead with five targets in Week 1, and his backup tight end, Cade Stover, had four more targets. C.J. Stroud's lack of reliable protection forced him to check down to his tight ends early and often against the Rams. As a result, Schultz hauled in three catches for 28 yards for the Texans' struggling offense against the Rams, while Stover caught all four of his targets for 22 yards. However, Stover also suffered a broken foot and will be out indefinitely, potentially leaving even more work for Schultz. Against the Bucs, Schultz is the No. 18 TE in the RotoBaller rankings, and he can be an emergency starter or TE2 in most standard-sized leagues this week.

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.