The Seahawks selected AJ Barner, a tight end out of Michigan, with pick No. 121 overall in the fourth round.

Barner, who began his college career at Indiana before transferring to Michigan, won a national title last year with the Wolverines while earning honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference honors. In his one season at Michigan, Barner started eight games, appearing in 15, and caught 22 passes for 249 yards and one touchdown. Barner also contributed on special teams under current Seahawks special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh.

“It means everything,” Barner said of being drafted by the Seahawks. “I’m here to win championships. I love football and I just want to help the team out however I can. It’s an honor to go to a city like Seattle.”

Stylistically, Barner said he can be any type of tight end the Seahawks ask him to be, be it a pass-catcher or a blocker.

“I’m a football player,” he said. “If you ask me to go out there and catch 10 passes a game, I’ll go do that. If you ask me to man up the C-gap and be physical, I’ll go do that. If you ask me to play on every special team, I’ll go do that. I love chopping up the helmet, I love playing physical football. This has been my dream since I’ve been a kid. This is what I love to do.”

Prior to transferring to Michigan, Barner spent three seasons with Indiana and was a team captain in 2022 when he started eight of 10 games played, catching 28 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

Barner gives the Seahawks additional tight end depth along with Noah Fant, Pharaoh Brown, Tyler Mabry and Brady Russell.

Barner’s draft analysis per Lance Zierlein, NFL:

“In-line tight end who continues improving as a run blocker but is unlikely to offer much as a pass catcher. He was a captain at Indiana before transferring to Michigan, and scouts say he attacks practices and weight training with a single-minded obsession to get better and compete.

“He’s technically sound in the early stages of the run block but needs to improve with his positioning to create better lanes for the runner. He can handle some pass protection but needs to keep improving. Barner’s role might be a little limited as a blocking Y tight end with below-average pass-catching traits, but he should earn playing time in the future.”

This is a developing story. Check back soon for additional news and analysis.