Start AJ Barner or Darren Waller? Week 9
Updated Nov 3, 3:36 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 10 answer posts Tuesday.
Start AJ Barner over Darren Waller
- Market projects
- 7.4
- recent weeks avg
- ARI D vs TE
- 16.6
- 7th most to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 88%
- Through Week 7
- Target share
- 13%
- Through Week 7
- Market projects
- 6.3
- recent weeks avg
- DEN D vs TE
- 16.0
- 9th most to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 48%
- Through Week 8
- Target share
- 10%
- Through Week 8
Should I drop AJ Barner for Darren Waller?
Not on these numbers alone. AJ Barner projects 54 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 8 games) and Darren Waller 57 (6.3 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts AJ Barner over Darren Waller.
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Our Week 9 call
Start AJ Barner over Darren Waller in Week 9.
Market-based projections have AJ Barner at 7.4 points and Darren Waller at 6.3, a gap of 1.1. 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 7.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6, 7 and 8 (7.0, 7.0 and 8.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Darren Waller this week yet, so his 6.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6, 7 and 8 (6.5, 6.4 and 6.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.
What the market projects
No Week 9 player market is posted for AJ Barner yet. His market-based projections were 7.0, 7.0 and 8.2 points in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, an average of 7.4, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.
No Week 9 player market is posted for Darren Waller yet. His market-based projections were 6.5, 6.4 and 6.0 points in Weeks 6, 7 and 8, an average of 6.3, which stands in until his Week 9 market posts.
That puts AJ Barner 1.1 points ahead of Darren Waller on these projections.
Week 9 matchups
AJ Barner and SEA host ARI on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.
ARI allowed 16.6 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 7th most in the league.
Tight ends caught passes for 60 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against ARI.
Darren Waller and CAR host DEN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
DEN allowed 16.0 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 9th most in the league.
Tight ends caught passes for 65 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against DEN.
By points allowed to the position, AJ Barner has the softer matchup.
Injury status
AJ Barner is not on the injury report.
Darren Waller is not on the injury report.
Usage before Week 9
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 8, Darren Waller played 48 percent of CAR snaps, drew 10 percent of the targets, earned 11 percent of the air yards and had 6 percent of the red zone chances.
Darren Waller, Week 4 against DET: 40 of 75 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 36 yards.
Darren Waller, Week 6 against PHI: 36 of 79 snaps, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.
Darren Waller, Week 7 against TB: 25 of 56 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 50 yards, 1 touchdown.
Darren Waller, Week 8 against GB: 45 of 73 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 11 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, Darren Waller played 9 games for MIA and scored 88.7 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing TE33.
He caught 24 of 34 targets for 283 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 210 air yards.
He was on the field for 45 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
Their other Week 9 calls
Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.
Drop or keep
Should I drop AJ Barner for Darren Waller?
Not on these numbers alone. AJ Barner projects 54 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 8 games) and Darren Waller 57 (6.3 a game over 9 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts AJ Barner over Darren Waller.
Should I drop Darren Waller for AJ Barner?
Not on these numbers alone. Darren Waller projects 57 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (6.3 a game over 9 games) and AJ Barner 54 (6.7 a game over 8 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 9 the call starts AJ Barner over Darren Waller.
Week 9 on the board
- Is AJ Barner playing Week 9?
- Is Darren Waller playing Week 9?
- Seahawks depth chart
- Panthers depth chart
- Week 9 TE rankings
- Week 9 fantasy rankings
- Week 9 start or sit
- Week 9 waiver wire
- Week 9 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 9
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 9 kicker rankings
- Week 9 defense rankings