Start Mike Gesicki or AJ Barner? Week 8

Updated Oct 29, 2:51 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Mike Gesicki over AJ Barner

Start

Mike Gesicki

TE · CIN · vs TEN

Market projects: 7.0; fantasy pts
TEN D vs TE: 10.8; 8th fewest to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 72 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 45%; Through Week 7
Target share: 8%; 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; 93 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 88%; Through Week 7
Target share: 13%; Through Week 7

Should I drop AJ Barner for Mike Gesicki?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Mike Gesicki projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 60 (6.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Mike Gesicki over AJ Barner.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Mike Gesicki over AJ Barner in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Mike Gesicki at 7.0 points and AJ Barner at 6.6, a gap of 0.4. 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 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

Player markets imply 7.0 fantasy points for Mike Gesicki, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Mike Gesicki is 25 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (13, 12 and 13 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 0.4 touchdowns (9 market sources).

That puts Mike Gesicki 0.4 points ahead of AJ Barner on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Mike Gesicki and CIN host TEN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TEN allowed 10.8 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 38 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against TEN.

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, AJ Barner has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Mike Gesicki is not on the injury report.

AJ Barner is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Mike Gesicki played 45 percent of CIN snaps, drew 8 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

Mike Gesicki, Week 3 against PIT: 29 of 57 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 37 yards, 1 touchdown.

Mike Gesicki, Week 4 against JAX: 47 of 76 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 40 yards, 1 touchdown.

Mike Gesicki, Week 5 against MIA: 29 of 65 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards, 1 touchdown.

Mike Gesicki, Week 7 against BAL: 20 of 53 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 6 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, Mike Gesicki played 13 games for CIN and scored 70.7 PPR points, 5.4 a game, finishing TE41.

He caught 28 of 42 targets for 307 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 244 air yards.

He was on the field for 38 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 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 Mike Gesicki?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Mike Gesicki projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 60 (6.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Mike Gesicki over AJ Barner.
Should I drop Mike Gesicki for AJ Barner?
No. Keep Mike Gesicki: he projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), AJ Barner 60 (6.7 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Mike Gesicki over AJ Barner.

Should I drop Mike Gesicki?