Who Should I Start? Ja'Tavion Sanders or AJ Barner

Saturday, August 30, 10:12 AM

Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders put together an impressive training camp, most notably as a receiver. Head coach Dave Canales recently spoke about his improvement as a pass-catcher. The second-year, fourth-round pick caught 33 passes for 342 yards and one touchdown during his rookie season. Interestingly, he did that on only 43 targets. Sanders was on the field often, but wasn't a favorite target for quarterback Bryce Young. Following an absence in Week 13 due to an injury, Sanders was almost completely uninvolved in the Carolina passing attack. He projects to be Carolina's primary tight end in 2025, but his rookie inconsistencies have made him nothing more than a late-round dart throw in fantasy football redraft leagues.

Friday, September 5, 2:24 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner is not someone worth starting in Week 1. Although Barner appears to be stepping into the No. 1 tight end role in this offense, fantasy managers would be better off waiting to see how the tight end touches are split between Barner and rookie Elijah Arroyo. Barner flashed in 2024 with 245 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Those are not eye-popping numbers, but Barner looked athletic and like he belonged on an NFL field. There is a large tight end role to fill in a Klint Kubiak-led offense that is favorable to the position. If Barner receives a lot of opportunities, he could end up being a solid streaming tight end. However, he is also a great blocker, something that Arroyo could use work on. As such, Arroyo could ultimately end up being the receiving tight end with Barner sprinkled in. The snap breakdown between the two in Week 1 will be telling.