AJ Barner vs Noah Fant: Who Should You Start?
Two tight ends who will land on plenty of the same rosters in 2026. AJ Barner (Seattle Seahawks) finished the 2025 season averaging 7.1 fantasy points per game in 17 games. Noah Fant (New Orleans Saints) came in at 3.9 PPG over 15 games. The gap is real but not insurmountable with the right matchup.
AJ Barner carries a 3.2-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
AJ Barner is the volume tight end in this matchup with 52 receptions for 519 yards, while Noah Fant profiles as a more touchdown-dependent spike play (3 scores on 34 catches). In weeks where Noah Fant finds the end zone he out-scores AJ Barner, but the floor gap is real.
AJ Barner has his bye in Week 10, and Noah Fant rests in Week 12. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at tight end for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
