Start Dalton Schultz or AJ Barner? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 8:41 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Dalton Schultz over AJ Barner

Start

Dalton Schultz

TE · HOU · vs NYG

Market projects: 9.5; recent weeks avg
NYG D vs TE: 14.2; 15th most to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 58%; Through Week 6
Target share: 18%; 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 Dalton Schultz?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Dalton Schultz projects 90 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (9.0 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Dalton Schultz over AJ Barner.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Dalton Schultz over AJ Barner in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Dalton Schultz at 9.5 points and AJ Barner at 7.0, a gap of 2.5. No player market is posted for Dalton Schultz this week yet, so his 9.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (9.7 and 9.3); 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 Dalton Schultz yet. His market-based projections were 9.7 and 9.3 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 9.5, 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 Dalton Schultz 2.5 points ahead of AJ Barner on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Dalton Schultz and HOU host NYG on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NYG allowed 14.2 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 5 games, the 15th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 52 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against NYG.

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

Dalton Schultz is not on the injury report.

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Dalton Schultz played 58 percent of HOU snaps, drew 18 percent of the targets, earned 11 percent of the air yards and had 10 percent of the red zone chances.

Dalton Schultz, Week 3 against IND: 29 of 54 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 30 yards.

Dalton Schultz, Week 4 against DAL: 35 of 55 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 9 yards.

Dalton Schultz, Week 5 against TEN: 34 of 66 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 30 yards.

Dalton Schultz, Week 6 against JAX: 25 of 63 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 33 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, Dalton Schultz played 17 games for HOU and scored 177.7 PPR points, 10.5 a game, finishing TE10.

He caught 82 of 106 targets for 777 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 11 red zone targets and 419 air yards.

He was on the field for 72 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 Dalton Schultz?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Dalton Schultz projects 90 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (9.0 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Dalton Schultz over AJ Barner.
Should I drop Dalton Schultz for AJ Barner?
No. Keep Dalton Schultz: he projects 90 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (9.0 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Dalton Schultz over AJ Barner.