AJ Barner · Gunnar Helm · 2026 week 1

AJ Barner or Gunnar Helm?

Wondering who you should start this week — AJ Barner or Gunnar Helm? The start/sit call and the numbers behind it are below, plus who wins a straight-up trade. Rebuilt nightly.

Start AJ BarnerAJ Barner projects 2.1 PPR points clear of Gunnar Helm in week 1, drawing NE — the 13th-ranked matchup for TEs. The numbers behind the call are below; overrule them with your eyes open.

Player	Wk 1	Proj (PPR)	Matchup	Form L3	Trade value	Status
AJ Barner START	vs NE	9.3	13th	10.6	127	healthy
Gunnar Helm	vs NYJ	7.2	5th · soft	6.3	–	healthy

TEs vs NE recently: Mark Andrews 2.4 pts (W16) · Stone Smartt 1.8 pts (W17) · Greg Dulcich 3.1 pts (W18).

TEs vs NYJ recently: Taysom Hill 11.3 pts (W16) · Hunter Henry 10.9 pts (W17) · Dawson Knox 8.4 pts (W18).

Who wins a straight-up trade?

AJ Barner carries the higher trade value — 127 against 0. In a one-for-one, the side receiving AJ Barner gets the most.

Open in Start/Sit (any scoring) Open in the Trade Analyzer

More TE decisions

AJ Barner or Kenyon Sadiq?AJ Barner or Oronde Gadsden?AJ Barner or Dalton Schultz?Gunnar Helm or Mike Gesicki?Gunnar Helm or Pat Freiermuth?Gunnar Helm or Darren Waller?

Game logs, matchup ranks and form are the 2025 season — 2026 hasn’t kicked off. Projections, schedule and trade values are current 2026 numbers, refreshed nightly.