If you played Seahawks TE AJ Barner in Week 9, then he certainly rewarded you. Barner accounted for the only two TDs in Sunday's 17-3 win over the Cardinals, snagging a 7-yard scoring pass from Drew Lock after plunging in from a yard out early in the second quarter.
This Role Can't Hurt His Value
Barner's TD actually came on his second straight tush-push-style run. He converted a second-and-1 from the 2-yard line to set up the scoring play. Barner added a third successful conversion on a third-and-1 late in the fourth quarter.
That conversion effectively ended the game. Lock followed with three kneel downs to run out the clock.
Barner previously rushed three times in the Week 7 win over the Chiefs and delivered a 1-yard TD plunge back in the Week 2 victory at Arizona. (The Cardinals have to be sick of seeing him.)
Barner now has 7 rushes for 8 yards this season and 17 for 22 yards and 3 TDs over the past two years.
Sixteen of his 17 rushes over that span have gone for a first down or a TD.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Still Not Much
That should keep Barner in the short-yardage plan, especially given that he got three such carries in this game with a full, healthy Seattle backfield.
But that's 22 rushing yards and 3 TDs across 26 games since the start of 2025 (plus a carry for 2 yards across three playoff contests at the end of last season). That's not adding much to the fantasy outlook.
Barner's TD catch against Arizona, meanwhile, was one of just 2 receptions for the game and his first scoring catch of the year.
His receptions per game have dipped from 3.1 last season to just 2.6 this year, while the receiving success rate has tumbled to 42.1% from two years of 63.2%. Barner's also working on career lows in catch rate (60.5%) and yards per target (5.5).
So the lead Seattle TE might pop for a few more TDs here and there, but he remains a poor weekly bet for fantasy output.
