When Sam Darnold began the most important drive of the season, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback threw three straight passes to [tight end AJ Barner](https://12thmanrising.com/aj-barner-green-lights-seattle-seahawks-culture-nfl-season).
A miraculous punt had pinned Seattle on its own one-yard line, and Darnold somehow needed to move the team into field goal range in 100 seconds. Barner ran three short routes in the center of the field. He caught two of the targets, getting the initial first down.
As [Seahawks fans are painfully aware](https://12thmanrising.com/seattle-seahawks-just-unleashed-shocking-breakout-star), the drive did result in a field goal attempt, but it came from 61 yards, and Jason Myers was unable to convert. But fans can also take solace in the fact that Seattle was even in a position to go for a win by that point. Darnold’s four interceptions proved to be just a little too much to overcome.
AJ Barner establishes himself as the Seattle Seahawks' second receiving option
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Mike Macdonald’s club very nearly pulled out an improbable win primarily because of an outstanding defense, which limited a Los Angeles Rams’ offense that entered the game averaging more than 360 yards per game to under 250 yards for the day. That defense will carry Seattle a long way this season.
But Barner’s emergence may signal a crucial new offensive weapon going forward. That may prove to be almost as significant if Seattle is going to challenge for a championship this year.
Entering the showdown with LA, Barner had been targeted 26 times through nine games. He had caught 21 of them for 236 yards. Those are modest numbers for a tight end. However, considering that Barner has largely been viewed as an in-line blocker with some decent receiving skills, they are just fine. The fact that he had snared four touchdowns was a genuine bonus.
Barner has developed into a pretty good receiver in his second season, but Seattle has had more obvious options as their primary pass-catching tight end. Last year, it was Noah Fant. This year, John Schneider chose Elijah Arroyo in the third round of the NFL draft to take over that flex tight end role.
Arroyo has flashed some talent but has yet to develop into a consistent downfield threat. The rookie was targeted twice on Sunday and did not manage a reception. His final target came on Darnold’s third interception.
Meanwhile, Barner was targeted 11 times and caught ten of them. Do you know the last time a Seahawks tight end had ten catches? It’s a real question, because I don’t. I looked back and couldn’t find any. Jimmy Graham never did it. Itula Mili? Nope. Not John Carlson or Jerramy Stevens.
AJ Barner did it in his 27th game as a Seahawk. For the season, he has now caught 31 passes on just 37 targets. That completion percentage places him fourth in the NFL amongst tight ends, trailing George Kittle, Jake Ferguson, and (can you believe it?) Noah Fant. Those are all regarded as pass-catching tight ends. Barner was supposed to be primarily a blocker.
He has an outstanding success rate of almost 70 percent. That measures how productive a tight end’s targets are based on down and distance. Barner is in the top ten amongst tight ends in the NFL, right on the heels of names like Kittle and Sam LaPorta. Again, I remind you, AJ Barner is supposed to be the blocking option at tight end.
Clearly, he has proven to be more than that. He now provides Darnold with a legitimate alternative to Cooper Kupp as a possession receiver. This has obvious implications for the future, given Kupp’s age. But based on the Rams’ game, the future is now for AJ Barner.
And we aren’t even mentioning his role as short yardage quarterback.
From the very first game of the 2025 season, one of Klint Kubiak’s major tasks has been to find reliable options to Jaxon Smith-Njigba as receiving targets. Darnold’s rapport with Kupp is still a work in progress. Rookie Tory Horton and newly acquired Rashid Shaheed may develop into dangerous downfield threats.
And it appears that AJ Barner – who has already surpassed his catch total and yardage total from last year – has become Darnold’s second security blanket. On those rare occasions when Smith-Njigba is not available, the QB has begun looking to his second-year tight end to come up with the big catch.