Start Cade Otton or AJ Barner? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 2:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Cade Otton over AJ Barner

Start

Cade Otton

TE · TB · at CAR

Market projects: 7.7; recent weeks avg
CAR D vs TE: 16.6; 9th most to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 93%; Through Week 6
Target share: 16%; Through Week 6

Sit

AJ Barner

TE · SEA · vs KC

Market projects: 7.0; recent weeks avg
KC D vs TE: 22.6; 2nd most to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 90%; Through Week 6
Target share: 13%; Through Week 6

Should I drop AJ Barner for Cade Otton?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Cade Otton projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Cade Otton over AJ Barner.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Cade Otton over AJ Barner in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Cade Otton at 7.7 points and AJ Barner at 7.0, a gap of 0.7. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Cade Otton this week yet, so his 7.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (7.7 and 7.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for AJ Barner this week yet, so his 7.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (8.1 and 6.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Cade Otton yet. His market-based projections were 7.7 and 7.7 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 7.7, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

No Week 7 player market is posted for AJ Barner yet. His market-based projections were 8.1 and 6.0 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 7.1, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Cade Otton 0.7 points ahead of AJ Barner on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Cade Otton and TB visit CAR on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CAR allowed 16.6 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 4 games, the 9th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 53 yards and a touchdown a game against CAR.

AJ Barner and SEA host KC on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

KC allowed 22.6 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 4 games, the 2nd most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 82 yards and a touchdown a game against KC.

By points allowed to the position, AJ Barner has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Cade Otton is not on the injury report.

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Cade Otton played 93 percent of TB snaps, drew 16 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

Cade Otton, Week 3 against MIN: 65 of 69 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 56 yards.

Cade Otton, Week 4 against GB: 60 of 64 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 37 yards.

Cade Otton, Week 5 against DAL: 66 of 72 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 25 yards.

Cade Otton, Week 6 against PIT: 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards.

Through Week 6, AJ Barner played 90 percent of SEA snaps, drew 13 percent of the targets, earned 4 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

AJ Barner, Week 3 against WAS: 61 of 67 snaps, 9 targets and 5 catches for 69 yards.

AJ Barner, Week 4 against LAC: 54 of 60 snaps, 3 targets and 1 catch for 12 yards.

AJ Barner, Week 5 against SF: 60 of 63 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 20 yards.

AJ Barner, Week 6 against DEN: 79 of 85 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 16 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Cade Otton played 16 games for TB and scored 122.2 PPR points, 7.6 a game, finishing TE22.

He caught 59 of 81 targets for 572 yards and 1 touchdown, with 5 red zone targets and 261 air yards.

He was on the field for 93 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, AJ Barner played 17 games for SEA and scored 147.3 PPR points, 8.7 a game, finishing TE14.

He caught 52 of 68 targets for 519 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 12 red zone targets and 248 air yards.

He was on the field for 78 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop AJ Barner for Cade Otton?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Cade Otton projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Cade Otton over AJ Barner.
Should I drop Cade Otton for AJ Barner?
No. Keep Cade Otton: he projects 77 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (7.7 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Cade Otton over AJ Barner.