Start AJ Barner or Darnell Washington? Week 7

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

Early kickoff: 9:30 AM ET, set your lineup before then.

Start AJ Barner over Darnell Washington

Start

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

Sit

Darnell Washington

TE · PIT · at NO

Market projects: 5.9; recent weeks avg
NO D vs TE: 16.7; 7th most to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 65%; Through Week 6
Target share: 10%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Darnell Washington for AJ Barner?

Yes, on the rest of the season. AJ Barner projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), Darnell Washington 59 (5.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts AJ Barner over Darnell Washington.

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Our Week 7 call

Start AJ Barner over Darnell Washington in Week 7.

Market-based projections have AJ Barner at 7.0 points and Darnell Washington at 5.9, a gap of 1.2. 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 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. No player market is posted for Darnell Washington this week yet, so his 5.9 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (5.6 and 6.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

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.

No Week 7 player market is posted for Darnell Washington yet. His market-based projections were 5.6 and 6.2 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 5.9, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts AJ Barner 1.2 points ahead of Darnell Washington on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

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.

Darnell Washington and PIT visit NO on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

NO allowed 16.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 5 games, the 7th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 71 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against NO.

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

Injury status

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Darnell Washington is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

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.

Through Week 6, Darnell Washington played 65 percent of PIT snaps, drew 10 percent of the targets, earned 6 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Darnell Washington, Week 3 against CIN: 47 of 62 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 67 yards.

Darnell Washington, Week 4 against CLE: 51 of 72 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 27 yards, 1 touchdown.

Darnell Washington, Week 5 against IND: 38 of 60 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 12 yards.

Darnell Washington, Week 6 against TB: 6 targets and 4 catches for 25 yards, 1 touchdown.

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, Darnell Washington played 16 games for PIT and scored 73.4 PPR points, 4.6 a game, finishing TE39.

He caught 31 of 43 targets for 364 yards and 1 touchdown, with 8 red zone targets and 135 air yards.

He was on the field for 57 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 Darnell Washington for AJ Barner?
Yes, on the rest of the season. AJ Barner projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), Darnell Washington 59 (5.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts AJ Barner over Darnell Washington.
Should I drop AJ Barner for Darnell Washington?
No. Keep AJ Barner: he projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), Darnell Washington 59 (5.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts AJ Barner over Darnell Washington.