Start Isaiah Likely or AJ Barner? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 2:21 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Isaiah Likely over AJ Barner

Start

Isaiah Likely

TE · NYG · at HOU

Market projects: 10.0; recent weeks avg
HOU D vs TE: 9.0; 6th fewest to TEs (2026)
Snap share: 70%; Through Week 6
Target share: 29%; 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 Isaiah Likely?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Isaiah Likely projects 100 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (10.0 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Isaiah Likely over AJ Barner.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Isaiah Likely over AJ Barner in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Isaiah Likely at 10.0 points and AJ Barner at 7.0, a gap of 3.0. No player market is posted for Isaiah Likely this week yet, so his 10.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (9.4 and 10.7); 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 Isaiah Likely yet. His market-based projections were 9.4 and 10.7 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 10.0, 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 Isaiah Likely 3.0 points ahead of AJ Barner on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Isaiah Likely and NYG visit HOU on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

HOU allowed 9.0 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 5 games, the 6th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 46 yards and no touchdowns a game against HOU.

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

Isaiah Likely is not on the injury report.

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Isaiah Likely played 70 percent of NYG snaps, drew 29 percent of the targets, earned 24 percent of the air yards and had 19 percent of the red zone chances.

Isaiah Likely, Week 3 against TEN: 54 of 64 snaps, 5 targets and 2 catches for 13 yards.

Isaiah Likely, Week 4 against ARI: 44 of 67 snaps, 12 targets and 7 catches for 66 yards.

Isaiah Likely, Week 5 against WAS: 71 of 89 snaps, 13 targets and 11 catches for 94 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Isaiah Likely, Week 6 against NO: 11 targets and 6 catches for 99 yards, 1 touchdown.

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, Isaiah Likely played 14 games for BAL and scored 61.7 PPR points, 4.4 a game, finishing TE45.

He caught 27 of 36 targets for 307 yards and 1 touchdown, with 6 red zone targets and 190 air yards.

He was on the field for 58 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 Isaiah Likely?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Isaiah Likely projects 100 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (10.0 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Isaiah Likely over AJ Barner.
Should I drop Isaiah Likely for AJ Barner?
No. Keep Isaiah Likely: he projects 100 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (10.0 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 67 (6.7 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Isaiah Likely over AJ Barner.