Start AJ Barner or Chig Okonkwo? Week 8

Our Week 8 call

Start AJ Barner over Chig Okonkwo in Week 8.

Market-based projections have AJ Barner at 6.6 points and Chig Okonkwo at 6.6, a gap of 0.0. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for AJ Barner this week yet, so his 6.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (6.0, 7.0 and 7.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Chig Okonkwo this week yet, so his 6.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (6.6 and 6.6); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for AJ Barner yet. His market-based projections were 6.0, 7.0 and 7.0 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 6.6, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for AJ Barner is 0.4 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Chig Okonkwo yet. His market-based projections were 6.6 and 6.6 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 6.6, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts AJ Barner 0.0 points ahead of Chig Okonkwo on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

AJ Barner and SEA host CHI on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

CHI allowed 13.1 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 16th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 57 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against CHI.

Chig Okonkwo and WAS host PHI on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

PHI allowed 10.5 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 7th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 43 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against PHI.

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

Injury status

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Chig Okonkwo is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, AJ Barner played 88 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 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.

AJ Barner, Week 7 against KC: 55 of 69 snaps, 3 carries for 4 yards, 5 targets and 4 catches for 42 yards.

Through Week 6, Chig Okonkwo played 65 percent of WAS snaps, drew 16 percent of the targets, earned 11 percent of the air yards and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 1 against PHI: 39 of 70 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 16 yards.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 4 against IND: 37 of 64 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 5 yards.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 5 against NYG: 44 of 62 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 60 yards.

Chig Okonkwo, Week 6 against SF: 51 of 67 snaps, 7 targets and 7 catches for 69 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

In 2025, Chig Okonkwo played 17 games for TEN and scored 124.0 PPR points, 7.3 a game, finishing TE21.

He caught 56 of 79 targets for 560 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 5 red zone targets and 218 air yards.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

• Start Cade Otton over AJ Barner.
• Start AJ Barner over Colby Parkinson.
• Start AJ Barner over Darnell Washington.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Colby Parkinson.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Darnell Washington.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Darren Waller.