A.J. Barner is the Colby Parkinson Replacement For Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks made a surprise pick in the fourth round by taking Michigan TE A.J. Barner, but the fit is seamless.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines tight end AJ Barner (89) against the Washington / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks were an interesting team to mock draft for over the course of the last year, especially after replacing head coach Pete Carroll with Mike Macdonald. Will the philosophies change despite the front office, led by John Schneider, staying the same?

After the first draft, it certainly doesn't feel a ton different in terms of appraoch. The trenches were a priority with the selections of Texas DT Byron Murphy II and UConn OG Christian Haynes with their first two picks. Their fourth pick was a little bit of the same by selecting Michigan TE A.J. Barner.

Jan 30, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; National tight end Aj Barner of Michigan (89) grabs a pass with / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

The selection of Barner is an interesting one for the Seahawks. He comes with a blocking profile but has some intriguing receiving upside. Having played at Michigan and Indiana, there was a major focus in running the football leaving Barner with just 64 receptions for 610 yards and five touchdowns. He was the TE2 opposite of potential first-round pick Colston Loveland this past year and his 6-6 frame leaves a lot of intrigue on the table.

The easiest way for a young tight end to get on the field is blocking, something Barner does well. He received an interesting comparison from Yahoo! Sports' Nate Tice that I think suits him well: former Seahawks tight end Colby Parkinson.

Michigan's AJ Barner may not be a marquee name but @Nate_Tice believes he can complement Noah Fant and valiantly fill the void left by Colby Parkinson's departure pic.twitter.com/2kA6enN0kc

— Cigar Thoughts 🎙🏈 (@CigarThoughts) May 1, 2024

"I know one guy I already like because I had him in my top 100 and that is A.J. Barner," said Tice. "He's your Colby Parkinson replacement. That's him, that's one-for one role. That is exactly what he is. He's a Y, he's a good blocker. He didn't test exceptionally well, I think he ran a 4.8 and change (40-yard dash), but he's got good hands. He's an auxiliary target, just like Parkinson was. I think Parkinson maybe has a little more juice, but a good player I really liked him. Limited upside player, but this guy can play snaps for you, especially what they want to do on offense, because you know Noah Fant is Noah Fant, sometimes you don't want him blocking in-line. You get Barner to unlock other things of your offense and if you want to get into two tight end looks, he can kind of keep that going."

Barner was asked about his role and he's all for just helping the team win.

“We haven’t got into that (his role). My role is going to be playing tight end and that’s catching passes and blocking too, and also on special teams. Whatever I can do to help the team win, I’m all for it.”

That suits Barner really well initially and it provides a nice blueprint for the future. 12 personnel is the easiest way to create mismatches and being able to trust Barner on the field will make a massive difference in opening up things for both the running game and also the passing game, especially for Fant.