Start Gunnar Helm or AJ Barner? Week 8

Updated Oct 28, 8:46 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm

Start

AJ Barner

TE · SEA · vs CHI

Market projects: 6.6; recent weeks avg
CHI D vs TE: 13.1; 16th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: High; 93 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 88%; Through Week 7
Target share: 13%; Through Week 7

Sit

Gunnar Helm

TE · TEN · at CIN

Market projects: 5.1; fantasy pts
CIN D vs TE: 15.7; 11th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 61 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 78%; Through Week 7
Target share: 9%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Gunnar Helm for AJ Barner?

Yes, on the rest of the season. AJ Barner projects 60 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 9 games), Gunnar Helm 46 (5.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm.

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Our Week 8 call

Start AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm in Week 8.

Market-based projections have AJ Barner at 6.6 points and Gunnar Helm at 5.1, a gap of 1.6. 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.

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 (9 market sources).

Player markets imply 5.1 fantasy points for Gunnar Helm, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Gunnar Helm is 17 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (12, 10 and 13 market sources).

That puts AJ Barner 1.6 points ahead of Gunnar Helm 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.

Gunnar Helm and TEN visit CIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CIN allowed 15.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 11th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 85 yards and no touchdowns a game against CIN.

By points allowed to the position, Gunnar Helm 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 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 7, Gunnar Helm played 78 percent of TEN snaps, drew 9 percent of the targets, earned 6 percent of the air yards and had 5 percent of the red zone chances.

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.

Gunnar Helm, Week 6 against IND: 33 of 46 snaps, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Gunnar Helm, Week 7 against CLE: 53 of 63 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 24 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 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, 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 60 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 9 games), Gunnar Helm 46 (5.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm.
Should I drop AJ Barner for Gunnar Helm?
No. Keep AJ Barner: he projects 60 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 9 games), Gunnar Helm 46 (5.1 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts AJ Barner over Gunnar Helm.