Seattle, WA

Ted’s Talk: Predicting AJ Barner’s rookie season

Published

2 years ago

June 5, 2024

Ted’s Talk: Predicting AJ Barner’s rookie season

The Seattle Seahawks were expected to utilize their new coaching staff’s college connections at some point during the NFL Draft. They made good on those expectations at pick No. 118 in the fourth round, selecting tight end AJ Barner from the University of Michigan. Barner – who played for new special teams coach Jay Harbaugh for the Wolverines – was primarily used as a blocking TE but could bring untapped potential in the passing game.

Athletic Profile/Comps

Relative Athletic Score (RAS)

Mockdraftable

Finally, a Seahawks draft pick that isn’t undersized! Well, except for starting the run on small hands…

Barner’s RAS is a little strange because outside of his height and 3-cone, nothing else is in the green. He also isn’t particularly fast with a 4.84 second 40. Yet, every composite category is “good” which results in a very good overall RAS.

Tyler Eifert is the best name on the RAS comp list but his score is quite a bit higher, so I don’t think that’s the best one to look at.

Mockdraftable only uses combine values and Barner did the testing at his pro day…making the Mockdraftable somewhat less instructive since they’re based off of less values.

However, the Mockdraftable comp with Drew Sample isn’t a bad one if we look at RAS.

Sample is stronger and faster, but Barner has a better 3-cone, vertical/broad jumps, and is taller. Sample is also similar to Barner in that he’s really only elite in one area (bench) yet is essentially “good” at everything to give him a high overall RAS.

Just for fun, let’s look at some of the more recent Seahawks tight ends and see how Barner stacks up.

As you can see, Barner is actually more athletic than their past draft picks at around the same size. He was also taken in basically the same range as both Dissly and Parkinson were fellow fourth-round picks while Vannett was a third-rounder.

I still wasn’t really satisfied with these comps so I spent way more time than I’d like to admit flipping through my mental Rolodex of tight ends to try and find one that was closer, at least athletically. Finally, I found one with Anthony Fasano.

Again, it’s not perfect but at least gives us the level of athlete we’re looking at with Barner. Fasano played 12 years in the NFL and had 36 career TDs. He only eclipsed 350 receiving yards in a season 3 times, maxing out at 528 yards. Fasano was a reliable safety blanket, though, and I’d definitely take that for Barner’s career.

Gut reaction to the pick

As soon as I saw the pick, I thought “makes sense.”

Like Seattle’s other fourth-round pick, Tyrice Knight, some thought this was a round too early for Barner. There was a little run on TEs in the fourth round with Ja’Tavion Sanders (No. 101), Theo Johnson (No. 107), and Erick All (No. 115) getting drafted prior to Seattle making a pick – remember that they originally had pick No. 102 but traded down.

Maybe the Seahawks liked those other TEs as well and felt that they had to pick Barner to avoid a shelf at the position. As was the case with Knight, however, it may be that this was a player Seattle was targeting with other TEs available at the time that were higher on consensus boards such as Cade Stover and Jared Wiley who both went later in the fourth round. That’s a cluster of six total TEs drafted in the fourth round, if you’re counting…so maybe Seattle didn’t reach after all?

The Seahawks had an opening at the TE position after losing Will Dissly (Los Angeles Chargers) and Colby Parkinson (Los Angeles Rams) to free agency in the offseason and adding Pharaoh Brown on a one-year deal. Barner provides depth and will probably assume the blocking TE role that Dissly held by the 2025 season at the latest.

Barner’s calling card will be his ability to block, but that can also make him a sneaky addition to the pass game.

The simple stuff done right in the redzone from AJ Barner. He gets a good release and slips right behind the backers. Notice how well he is keeping pace with JJ McCarthy on the roll out and presents a big target. pic.twitter.com/crXTUaLrQq
— Thomas Martinez (@BoltsDraftTalk) January 20, 2024
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Plays like these could make him a QB’s best friend if the primary reads are covered. All in all, he’s likely the Dissly replacement on a rookie contract. That’s a fine use of a fourth-round pick.

Rookie season prediction

I’m not expecting Barner to have a significant role in the offense as a rookie unless Noah Fant or Pharaoh Brown are injured. Fant is the best pass-catching TE and Brown the best (for now) run-blocking option. Even UDFA Jack Westover – if he makes the team – is potentially a better option to catch passes.

Since Brown is only on a one-year contract, however, it will be important to get Barner meaningful snaps in run-heavy sets to groom him to take over that role next season. Barner was never a big producer in college with 610 yards and 5 TDs total in his 4-year college career. He’ll have few opportunities in his rookie season and will reel in 12 catches for 125 yards and 1 sneaky TD. More importantly, Barner will be a mainstay on special teams units and become a trusted part of Jay Harbaugh’s units.

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Seattle, WA

Seahawks Will Host Rams Or 49ers In Divisional Round

Published

10 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Seahawks Will Host Rams Or 49ers In Divisional Round

The Seahawks will host an NFC West opponent in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Whether that opponent is the Rams or the 49ers will be determined on Sunday when the 49ers play the Eagles in Philadelphia. Also still to be determined is the date and time of the game.

The Rams, who are the No. 5 seed, beat the Panthers on Saturday to advance, and since Seattle, as the No. 1 seed, hosts the lowest-seeded team that advances out of the wild card round, the sixth-seeded 49ers would come to Lumen Field if they win on Sunday. If the Eagles win, however, the Rams would come to Seattle, while the Eagles would head to Chicago to face the Bears, who beat the Packers on Saturday night.

The Seahawks split the season series with both teams, losing to the 49ers in Week 1 and the Rams in Week 11 before beating the Rams in Week 16 and the 49ers in Week 18 as part of a seven-game winning streak that helped them win the NFC West and earn the No. 1 seed.

Next weekend’s game at Lumen Field will be the Seahawks’ first home playoff game with fans in the stadium—they hosted a wild card game in an empty stadium following the 2020 regular season—since they beat the Lions in the wild card round during the 2016 season. Prior to that empty-stadium loss to the Rams five years ago, the Seahawks won 10 consecutive home playoff games dating back to the start of their Super Bowl run in 2005. The Seahawks have reached the Super Bowl in each of the three previous seasons that they earned the No. 1 seed.

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Seattle, WA

Paul Arriola, Pedro de la Vega and the Seattle Sounders return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Published

22 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Paul Arriola, Pedro de la Vega and the Seattle Sounders return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Forgotten. Absent. Inconsistently healthy. Weights of expectation.

These heroes offered glimpses and scenes of their greatness in 2025.

Paul Arriola, X Man

Paul Arriola gave us a glimpse of his former greatness before his injury. Once a DP, once the highest value transfer within MLS, once recruited to skip MLS entirely for what was at the time a much better league, Arriola’s all comps contributions per 90 would compare to wingback style players Jordi Alba and the now-gone Ali Ahmed.

Arriola slides right in that space, with his 0.57. Now, a discerning reader such as yourself will imagine small sample sizes and opponent quality. You would be correct. But Paul also put up similar numbers in MLS in 2018, 2021 and 2022. His time in MLS as a whole is .40/90 (in the realm of last season’s Christian Espinoza).

Defining Arriola’s role is always going to be hard. He’s played as many wide roles as exist in the modern game. With Seattle, he could be a left or right winger in a four-front if they choose to run a 3-2-4-1, or a wingback in a 3-4-2-1 or a conventional winger in a 4-2-3-1. No matter his role, he’s been strong. His calls to the US National Team ran every year from age 20-27, when he put up better numbers there than he did in league play. He’s now 30.

Pedro de la Vega, the injury saga

Sounders fans know how bright Pedro can burn. So do, Lanus fans, Argentina fans, Cruz Azul fans, Santos Laguna fans, Tijuana fans, Puebla, Galaxy, Inter Messi and a smattering of other MLS teams. The Leagues Cup player of the year and wonder goal nominee is absolutely thrilling, when available.

Lanus, Argentina and Seattle also know his history of injuries. Injuries are why he’s in Seattle.

PdlV only played 41% of available minutes in all competitions. A healthy winger of his quality should be around 66% or so. His absolutely stellar all comps performance of 0.72 is on par with Hany Mukhtar, at 20th in MLS play. Pedro is ahead of Diego Rossi, Djordje Mihailovic, and Dejan Joveljić.

When you think about how the Seattle Sounders will make up ground for the inevitable decline of Danny Musovski the names Arriola and de la Vega should be bandied about.

They weren’t merely better than the people who replaced them on the Sounders – they’re better than the majority of high-profile players in the league.

In 2025 Craig Waibel raised the floor and the peak. Injuries gave us only a few glimpses of that peak.

2026 is when the multi-competition heroic Sounders can once again show their prowess and why their presence as a top tier club is eternal.

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Catching up on Sounder at Heart

Here’s what you missed on the site this week.

Sounders

Next match: Sunday, February 22, 2026 v. the Colorado Rapids | 6 p.m. PT | Apple TV/FS1

Reign

Schedule to come next week.

Defiance

Schedule to come.

Looking back at the news

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Man admits racist abuse of footballer Jess Carter (BBC)
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Seattle, WA

Here’s why the Blue Angels in Seattle on Monday

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Here’s why the Blue Angels in Seattle on Monday

SEATTLE – Known for their high-flying skills above the skies during air shows, the Blue Angels will be in Seattle once again on Monday.

But with Seafair not until the summer, many are wondering why the Navy pilots are in the Emerald City ahead of schedule.

Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets are flying The Diamond Roll (four planes in formation), doing a 360-degree roll as one unit, flying at 400 mph over Lake Washington for the Seafair weekend in Seattle. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Keep reading to find out why the U.S. Navy Blue Angels are in Seattle on Jan. 12.

Why are the Blue Angels in Seattle now?

The Blue Angels returned to Seattle on Monday to begin preseason planning for the 2026 Boeing Seafair Air Show.

Pilots will assess airshow locations, scouting the skies and getting familiar with the landscape ahead of the Seafair Weekend Festival, when they perform in three separate air shows. Their visit brings the iconic Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornets to the city, the aircraft pilots use during the air show.

Blue Angels pilots plan to stay in Seattle until Tuesday, coordinating with Seafair event organizers. Last year, only two Blue Angels pilots were in Seattle for preseason planning, instead of the entire squadron.

When are the Blue Angels coming back to Seattle?

The Blue Angels will fly back to western Washington for the 2026 Boeing Seafair Air Show, on Friday, July 31 – Sunday, August 2, 2026.

They’ll also be in town for two practice runs on Thursday, July 30.

When is the 2026 Seafair Air Show?

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will perform in three air shows throughout Seafair weekend. They’re happening each afternoon on July 31 through Aug. 2 on Lake Washington and at Genesee Park.

The multi-day Seafair Weekend Festival also includes the Apollo Mechanical Cup Hydroplane Races, along with live entertainment, food and drinks, and family-friendly activities. Tickets for the festival go on sale in February.

Who are the Blue Angels?

The Blue Angels is a team of elite Navy flight demonstrators, showcasing their aviation skills in high-speed, precision aerobatic performances.

They perform in air shows across the U.S. each year, with the goal of inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country, displaying the teamwork and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

Formed in 1946, this year marks the 80th year of the Blue Angels. They take pride in performing for audiences both at home and abroad, showcasing the excitement, precision, and power of Naval aviation.

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The Source: Information in this story came from U.S. Navy Blue Angels, Seafair, and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.

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