AJ Barner Takes Star Turn as Perfect ‘Seahawks’ Tight End
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Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) celebrates after a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images [/caption]
The Seattle Seahawks certainly have come a long way since the Jimmy Graham trade.
Many 12s see that trade, made in March of 2015, as the beginning of the end of the Legion of Boom era. Where the Seahawks got away from who they truly were and chased shiny objects instead. While Graham wasn’t necessarily bad in Seattle (he is Seattle’s franchise leader in receiving yards and touchdowns for a tight end), it certainly marked a period where they lacked a true identity.
That identity is back. Hard-nosed, physical football lead by defense and selfless play.
AJ Barner is a fantastic posterchild for what the 2025 Seahawks stood for. He doesn’t beg for targets. He doesn’t suck up the headlines. The Michigan product isn’t afraid of a little dirty work and then making the most of his targets, whenever they come.
Barner was already regarded as one of the top run-blocking tight ends in his draft class, with prototypical size (6'6", 251 lbs), good length, strength, and technical soundness. Scouts praised his low pad level, hand placement, leg drive, and competitiveness in the run game. He fires out effectively, sustains blocks, and creates lanes for runners.
In Super Bowl LX, Barner garnered just four targets, but made the most of it. He caught all four targets for 54 yards and one score, the only passing touchdown of the game for Sam Darnold on a 16-yard score that put Seattle up 19-0.
“Unbelievable play call. Great design by all of our coaches,” Darnold said after the game. “They stay up at crazy hours of the night to try and design plays like that. They were in a coverage where AJ kind of got lost in the shuffle and he came wide open and made a great catch.”
During that score, play-by-play radio broadcaster Steve Raible mentioned “(Barner) could not wait to get out of that hotel. I talked to him yesterday and he said, ‘I’ve got to go hit somebody.’”
That’s how Barner is wired. He seems to enjoy imposing his will on a defender he is assigned to block in the run game as much as he does hauling in a touchdown pass, to the point where coach Mike Macdonald indicated earlier in the week that he had to decline the player’s request for more padded practice time leading up to the Super Bowl.
It’s time for the whole world to know it. AJ Barner is the perfect “Seahawks” type of tight end. And he is also establishing himself as a top 15 tight end in the NFL.
Between the regular and postseason, Barner is the eighth-highest graded tight end in the NFL. Among qualified tight ends, he ranked ninth in run blocking grade and 14th in pass blocking. All while he ranks 10th in passer rating when targeted.
While he isn’t, and likely won’t, put up Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts-level gaudy fantasy stats, Barner is exactly the tight end the Seahawks need him to be.
Barner’s six receiving touchdowns in the regular season is the most by a Seahawks tight end since 2016 by, of course, Graham. However, Barner is also willing to get his nose dirty in the trenches and block. In fact, he led all tight ends in the NFL in pure run blocking snaps. That speaks volumes to the trust the Seahawks have in him being involved in almost every snap, every package, every situation. His presence in the huddle does not tip the offense’s hand.
He likely won’t be making 11 Pro Bowls like Travis Kelce or racking up 1,000 receiving yards. But the Seahawks don’t need him to do that. For what this team was in 2025, and may become in 2026, Barner is the ideal tight end for who the Seahawks are. And right now? That is a champion.
