Who Should I Start? Trey McBride or AJ Barner

Wednesday, February 11, 6:13 AM

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride earned first-team All-Pro honors after setting the all-time single-season reception record by a tight end in his banner 2025 season. Across 17 games, the 26-year-old recorded 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns on 169 targets. McBride was the number one scoring tight end in fantasy football in 2025, and given his age, he projects to continue his dominance for at least the next few seasons. The Cardinals are reportedly looking to trade quarterback Kyler Murray this offseason, which means McBride could be facing another season of uncertainty under center in Arizona. However, McBride proved he could be highly productive even with career backup Jacoby Brissett throwing him passes this past season. Heading into 2026, McBride looks like the clear fantasy TE1 in both redraft and dynasty formats.

Monday, January 26, 12:57 PM

Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner has been very quiet in the team's two playoff wins, as he caught just two of his three targets for 13 yards in Sunday's 31-27 win over the division-rival Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship. It was better than Barner's donut for fantasy managers in the blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round, but it still was a disappointment. Quarterback Sam Darnold targeted Barner only three times among his 36 pass attempts on the day in a game that featured plenty of offense on both sides. The 23-year-old second-year tight end was the TE14 in half-PPR scoring during the regular season, catching 52 of his 68 targets for 519 yards and six touchdowns, and he remains mostly reliant on finding the end zone for fantasy production. For the Super Bowl in two weeks, Barner could face competition for targets from rookie Elijah Arroyo, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday after coming off Injured Reserve last week.