Who Should I Start? Daniel Bellinger or AJ Barner

Monday, January 6, 10:27 AM

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger caught two passes for nine yards during Sunday's Week 18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Bellinger has stepped up as the Giants' primary tight end with Theo Johnson (foot) on injured reserve, but he played just 58.5 percent of the offensive snaps on Sunday and hasn't been a dependable contributor despite his increased role. Moving forward, the 24-year-old will drop back down to second on the depth chart once Johnson is healthy again. He's off the radar heading into 2025 fantasy football drafts.

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.