Start AJ Barner or Kyle Pitts Sr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 11:56 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Kyle Pitts Sr. over AJ Barner

Start

Kyle Pitts Sr.

TE · ATL · at TB

Market projects: 7.4; recent weeks avg
TB D vs TE: 16.2; 8th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 84 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 55%; Through Week 7
Target share: 16%; Through Week 7

Sit

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; 97 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 88%; Through Week 7
Target share: 13%; Through Week 7

Should I drop AJ Barner for Kyle Pitts Sr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Kyle Pitts Sr. projects 65 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.2 a game over 9 games), AJ Barner 60 (6.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kyle Pitts Sr. over AJ Barner.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Kyle Pitts Sr. over AJ Barner in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Kyle Pitts Sr. at 7.4 points and AJ Barner at 6.6, a gap of 0.8. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Kyle Pitts Sr. this week yet, so his 7.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (6.3, 7.2 and 8.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. 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 Kyle Pitts Sr. yet. His market-based projections were 6.3, 7.2 and 8.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 7.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Kyle Pitts Sr. is 0.4 touchdowns (7 market sources).

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 0.3 touchdowns (8 market sources).

That puts Kyle Pitts Sr. 0.8 points ahead of AJ Barner on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Kyle Pitts Sr. and ATL visit TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 16.2 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 8th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 62 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against TB.

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.

By points allowed to the position, Kyle Pitts Sr. has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kyle Pitts Sr. is not on the injury report.

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Kyle Pitts Sr. played 55 percent of ATL snaps, drew 16 percent of the targets, earned 1 percent of the air yards and had 9 percent of the red zone chances.

Kyle Pitts Sr., Week 7 against SF: 38 of 69 snaps, 5 targets and 5 catches for 22 yards, 1 touchdown.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Kyle Pitts Sr. played 17 games for ATL and scored 210.8 PPR points, 12.4 a game, finishing TE2.

He caught 88 of 118 targets for 928 yards and 5 touchdowns, with 11 red zone targets and 528 air yards.

He was on the field for 87 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Kyle Pitts Sr., Week 18 of 2025 against NO: 9 targets and 6 catches for 58 yards, 11.8 PPR points.

Kyle Pitts Sr., Week 17 of 2025 against LAR: 49 of 53 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 16 yards, 3.6 PPR points.

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 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 AJ Barner for Kyle Pitts Sr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Kyle Pitts Sr. projects 65 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.2 a game over 9 games), AJ Barner 60 (6.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kyle Pitts Sr. over AJ Barner.
Should I drop Kyle Pitts Sr. for AJ Barner?
No. Keep Kyle Pitts Sr.: he projects 65 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (7.2 a game over 9 games), AJ Barner 60 (6.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kyle Pitts Sr. over AJ Barner.