Start AJ Barner or Gunnar Helm? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 9:41 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm

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

Gunnar Helm

TE · TEN · vs CLE

Market projects: 4.9; recent weeks avg
CLE D vs TE: 14.6; 13th most to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 77%; Through Week 5
Target share: 9%; Through Week 5

Should I drop Gunnar Helm 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), Gunnar Helm 52 (5.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm.

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Our Week 7 call

Start AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm in Week 7.

Market-based projections have AJ Barner at 7.0 points and Gunnar Helm at 4.9, a gap of 2.1. 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 Gunnar Helm this week yet, so his 4.9 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (4.9 and 5.0); 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 Gunnar Helm yet. His market-based projections were 4.9 and 5.0 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 4.9, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts AJ Barner 2.1 points ahead of Gunnar Helm 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.

Gunnar Helm and TEN host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 14.6 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 5 games, the 13th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 54 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against CLE.

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

Injury status

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Gunnar Helm 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 5, Gunnar Helm played 77 percent of TEN snaps, drew 9 percent of the targets, earned 5 percent of the air yards and had 7 percent of the red zone chances.

Gunnar Helm, Week 2 against PHI: 46 of 53 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 13 yards.

Gunnar Helm, Week 3 against NYG: 49 of 60 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 14 yards.

Gunnar Helm, Week 4 against BAL: 46 of 64 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 5 yards.

Gunnar Helm, Week 5 against HOU: 45 of 63 snaps, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 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, Gunnar Helm played 16 games for TEN and scored 91.7 PPR points, 5.7 a game, finishing TE31.

He caught 44 of 55 targets for 357 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 198 air yards.

He was on the field for 53 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 Gunnar Helm 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), Gunnar Helm 52 (5.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm.
Should I drop AJ Barner for Gunnar Helm?
No. Keep AJ Barner: he projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), Gunnar Helm 52 (5.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm.