Who Should I Start? Daniel Bellinger or AJ Barner

Saturday, November 15, 9:15 AM

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger (groin) has been cleared from the injury report and is good to go for Sunday's matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Bellinger opened the week with limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday, but was upgraded to a full participant on Friday. The 25-year-old had his highest snap share of the season in the Giants' Week 10 loss at the Chicago Bears at 72.6%, and added one catch for eight yards on two targets. Bellinger has been more involved in the offense of late, playing at least 50% of the snaps in all but one game since Week 5, totaling nine catches for 169 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. His 18.8 yards per reception during that span is the highest among tight ends with at least 50 routes run. In Weeks 1-4, he played over 30% of the snaps just once with three total receptions. Bellinger will be without rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart (concussion) for this game, but backup Jameis Winston has proven capable over the years. Bellinger is only relevant as a deep league option for Week 11 against the Packers.

Friday, November 21, 6:51 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner is worth monitoring in Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans. Barner is coming off a 10-reception, 70-yard game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11. He has been inconsistent this season, but he has been a solid fantasy producer more often than not. Seattle projects to have a low passing volume day in Week 12 against a Titans team that has had trouble staying in games this season. However, Barner's target share will be worth monitoring because it could translate to further success later this season. Even so, unless Barner finds the end zone in Week 12 (which he has five times this season) he is unlikely to be particularly useful. If Seattle does indeed lean heavily on the running game this week, most of the passing volume is likely to go to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Stash Barner through this week and see how he performs.