A look at the stat sheet shows which Seattle Seahawks played a key role in the team’s season opener, which beat the Denver Broncos 26-20 on Sunday at Lumen Field.

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Kenneth Walker’s 103 yards and touchdown rushing, Julian Love’s team-high 12 tackles and an interception, and Boye Mafe’s two tackles for loss and one sack are some of the performances that stood out in the stat sheet.

But stats don’t always tell the story, and a Seahawk whose name appears only in downs played was an unsung hero of the Week 1 victory, according to former NFL quarterback and college football analyst Brock Huard.

“AJ (Barner) was a good blocker, man,” Huard said during Blue 88 on Brock and Salk on Monday. “I think he was kicking himself one time. At the end of that fourth quarter, they threw a third-down bubble (screen) to (Zach) Charbonnet on kind of a cool little move, and that was about the only block I think he got beat on. He sealed edges, he got across the line of scrimmage on a lot of their zone stuff and was just a willing hammer in a bunch of nails.”

Barner, a rookie fourth-round pick out of Michigan, was thrust into a more prominent role as the No. 2 tight end in the opener due to the inactivity of veteran Pharaoh Brown with a foot injury suffered in training camp. The 22-year-old Barner logged 32 snaps (48 percent of Seattle’s 67 offensive plays), according to Pro Football Reference.

“I thought he did a great job in his first game, when he got injured, and he was more than capable,” Huard said.

“He’s got some guts”

Barner didn’t have flashy reception totals for his position in college and was viewed more as a blocking tight end entering the NFL. The Seahawks used him that way against Denver, as the rookie didn’t have a target or reception despite being involved in nearly 50% of the team’s offensive plays.

But Huard has heard that the organization places a lot of value on Barner’s qualities.

“People were talking about him a lot,” Huard said. “Maybe not so much the coaches, but people around the program that I trust were like, ‘Yeah, man, those AJ guys have some juice. He’s got some grit. This isn’t too big for him.’ And to come in right away as a rookie and just do a phenomenal, unsung job like that in that run game, I thought AJ played really, really well.”

Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. ET or find the podcast in the Seattle Sports app.

More about the Seattle Seahawks season opener

• Seahawks RBs spark second-half revival in win over Broncos
• Seahawks Struggling With O-Line Injuries After Week 1 Win
• Seahawks Instant Reaction: Weighing in on 26-20 win over Broncos
• Rost: Seahawks’ season-opener win is a matter of give and take
• Seahawks Observations: What Stood Out in the 26-20 Win Against the Broncos

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