Former tight end at Michigan. 2023: 22 catches, 249 receiving yards, 1 TD.
6′6″ · 251 lb · Aurora, OH
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The story
Former tight end at Michigan. 2023: 22 catches, 249 receiving yards, 1 TD.
A.J. Barner
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. Across four seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Tom Allen and Jim Harbaugh. One game to point at: 99 rec yds, 8 receptions against Michigan State — Week 8, 2023.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Michigan, 604 receiving yards — drafted at #121 overall by Seattle.
His career
He barely played early on. Then he did not come off the field.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2020–2023
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Jim Harbaugh.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
SeattleEntering 3rd NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: catch rate (90th percentile). Concern: explosive rate (25th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 1.8 | 17.0 | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.5 | 30.2 | 11.6 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 1.8 | 18.6 | 11.9 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.6 | 31.2 | 11.4 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kyle Whittingham
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2023
Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 13 · 2023
W 30–24
vs Ohio State
2 rec · 25 yds
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 6 at home.
With J. McCarthy — 148 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 94.5 · 17 rush yds (4 car) · T. Doman — 52 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 71 LONG
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 10 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 35-7vs UNLV | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-7vs Rutgers | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-7@ Nebraska | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 6 | W 52-10@ Minnesota | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 7 | W 52-7vs Indiana | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 8 | W 49-0@ Michigan State | 8 | 99 | 12.4 | 1 | 22 | Season-high 99 yds |
| Wk 11 | W 24-15@ Penn State | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 12 | W 31-24@ Maryland | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 13 | W 30-24vs Ohio State | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 14 | W 26-0@ Iowa | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 | |
| Total | 22 | 249 | 11.6 | 1 | 22 |
Play style
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
His 2023 production profile sits closest to George Takacs’s 2022 season.
Matches George on
Differs from George on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Thomas Gordon's senior season at Northwestern (2024).
Matches Thomas on
Differs from Thomas on
Player DNA