Who Should I Start? Ross Dwelley or AJ Barner

Friday, May 2, 4:17 PM

The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to a one-year contract with former Atlanta Falcons tight end Ross Dwelley. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news, but did not disclose the monetary details. The 30-year-old spent his first seven campaigns in the league with San Francisco and will return after a one-year stint with the Falcons. Dwelley appeared in all 17 games last season, but he played only 105 snaps (9.19%) -- snagging his only target for a gain of five yards. He did most of his damage -- snap-wise -- on special teams, but was still only on the field roughly a third of the time (37.22% of snaps). It's possible the 49ers brought him on due to his familiarity with their system, but he doesn't project to make an impact in the receiving column. He'll serve as a depth piece for the organization.

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.