Rookie tight end AJ Barner came into the season knowing that there was a specific narrative about him that he wanted to prove false.

"Apparently coming out of the draft, I was just a blocking tight end," Barner said.

And this season, that hasn't been true. Although the numbers haven't been there, Barner has been consistent and has come up with big catches in crucial situations for Seattle. Against the Vikings, on a third-and-four play in the fourth quarter, Geno Smith found Barner at the back of the endzone for a short pass that Barner came down with, in part thanks to his helmet. That touchdown gave the Seahawks their first lead over the Vikings.

"I'm just trying to learn every single week some games are better than others," Barner said. "For myself, I feel like this past week, had I not had that touchdown, I might not be sitting here saying that I played a great game. Every week I'm just trying to learn from the guys in my room, my coach, and just get better and better."

Quarterback Geno Smith has taken notice of Barner and the kind of success he's been seeing this season.

"AJ, he has showed me a lot," Smith said. "Early on he was asking a lot of questions about routes and stuff and I was like, 'Hey, hold on. Let's see what you can do first.' But the minute he's gotten out there, he's been a playmaker every time he touches the ball, it's usually a big play or a positive play scoring a lot of touchdowns. That catch that he made in the end zone, not an easy catch, but for him to come down with that and give us the lead, I thought he's just been really outstanding in his preparation and that's also showing up on game day as well."

Barner has three touchdowns on the season and at least one reception per game since New England. His other two touchdowns came during the Seahawks Monday Night Football game against the Lions and vs. the Jets in Week 13.

"I think I've broke that narrative so far," Barner said on the label that he's only a blocking tight end. "That's something that I feel like when a tight end gets the ball in his hands, you have to be able to make something, shake with it after the catch. So, I need to continue to do a good job of doing that."

After the Seahawks drafted Barner in April, head coach Mike Macdonald said that Barner was an underrated athlete.

"Our type of guy, top-level worker, big-time competitor," Macdonald said. "I think he can block and run pretty significant route tree as well and then he played for Jay [Harbaugh] on special teams in all four phases so we're going to expect him to come contribute in the kicking game as well as soon as he steps in the door."

Macdonald added, "His run after the catch is good. Again, I think he's an underrated athlete. I think he's got a little bit more weight to put on, but the blocking tight end is a really important position. It starts in the C-gap in the run game and who's going to defend it and who's going to block it so you have to be able to answer those questions and those skill sets don't just grow on trees, you know? It's tough to do. So we expect him to be able to do that. So it's a coveted skill set."

While this has just been one season, Barner's curiosity, drive to prove doubters wrong and the want to learn and be better have set him up for success.

"I'm far from where I can be as a tight end and where I want to get to go, but I think a lot of times I kind of flew under the radar and still continue to do so and that's something that kind of continues to fuel me. People kind of said their things about my production in college and what I can be in the NFL and I think there's plenty left for me to do, but I think I've done a good job of showing that I can be a complete tight end in this league."