Chris Farley sprinkled on Matthew Golden anytime TD at +250, noting the rookie played 47% of snaps in his debut but drew only two targets because Green Bay controlled the game. He expects a faster-paced, higher-scoring contest Thursday; if the Packers fall into a neutral or negative game script, Jordan Love should look Golden’s way more often. Farley highlighted that Josh Jacobs logged 20 touches while Love attempted just 22 passes versus Detroit, a usage split unlikely to repeat if Washington pushes the pace. More routes for Golden at home boosts the rookie’s touchdown equity at tasty odds.

JutPicks grabbed Matthew Golden at +250 for an anytime score, noting that Green Bay’s Week 1 blowout limited Jordan Love to just 22 pass attempts while Josh Jacobs soaked up 20 touches. If Thursday’s 48.5-point total proves accurate and the Packers fall behind, the rookie’s 47% snap share from the opener should climb. Even on only two Week 1 targets, Golden saw valuable perimeter routes and figures to leapfrog veterans for red-zone fades in a pass-heavier game script. With Washington’s secondary surrendering multiple explosive plays to Arizona last week, JutPicks believes the athletic rookie is live for his first NFL touchdown.

According to Kelly, the SportsLine model expects first-round pick Matthew Golden to make an immediate splash by leading Green Bay in receiving yards against Detroit. The projection hinges on the Packers’ long-standing need for a true alpha receiver and the Lions’ shaky pass defense after losing both coordinators. If the script plays out with Green Bay forcing turnovers and building a lead, Jordan Love should funnel targets to Golden, making him a sneaky Week 1 DFS play at what is likely to be a depressed salary.

McFarland called Matthew Golden his most-drafted wideout because the Packers’ room is wide open and his ADP only recently moved off Round 7. The rookie supermodel graded Golden as a second-round talent, and McFarland believes a 22-23 % target share is firmly in play with Romeo Dobbs profiling as a complementary piece and Jaden Reed nursing a foot injury. Golden’s preseason highlight catch pushed him up one round, but he still goes in the 90s of home-league drafts, which McFarland labeled outright stealing.

With Jayden Reed's Week 1 availability in doubt, Ian Hartitz told readers to "load up" on Matthew Golden in weekend drafts. Hartitz reasoned that Reed's lingering foot issue could open an immediate path to snaps and targets for Golden, giving drafters a cheap way to capture upside in the Packers passing game without paying Reed’s price tag. Hartitz views Golden as a perfect final-round flier for both Best Ball tournaments and deep Season-Long benches.

Sam Monson said Matthew Golden looks like a legit alpha rather than just the Packers’ default top target. In preseason action Green Bay has been motioning him, designing plays for him and generally treating him like their primary weapon. Monson pointed out Golden’s speed and smooth ball-tracking plus the fact he has already separated from Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed in snap share. If the Packers finally have a true number-one receiver, Monson believes it dramatically upgrades Jordan Love’s passing ceiling and makes Golden an immediate every-week fantasy starter with upside in Best-Ball formats.

Koerner highlighted Matthew Golden as a screaming value who is quietly becoming Green Bay’s primary target. With Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks all nursing injuries, Golden has run with the first-team offense in every two-WR set throughout camp and hauled in a 39-yard deep ball in the third preseason game. FantasyPros ADP has already climbed from WR46 to WR41, yet Koerner expects another leap because rookie first-round receivers drafted outside the top-30 have beaten ADP 66 % of the time the past seven seasons. He projects Golden to open the year as Jordan Love’s most-targeted pass catcher and recommends grabbing him any time he lasts past the 9th round.

Alex Selesnick took Matthew Golden under 750.5 receiving yards. Golden struggled versus man coverage at Texas—an indicator Selesnick calls a red flag for first-year wideouts. Green Bay’s offense remains run-heavy and already spreads looks among several weapons, so Selesnick doubts Golden earns a full-time role. He sees the rookie functioning mainly as a situational deep threat and forecasts a difficult adjustment period, making 750 yards far too aggressive.

Chris Raybon said Matthew Golden is set up to become the Packers’ every-down No. 1 wideout immediately. Christian Watson is already ruled out for the start of the season and every other receiver on the roster—Jaden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks—has missed time with injuries. Raybon noted Doubs topped out around an 80 % route rate last year, whereas Golden “has a chance to be a 90 %-plus type of player.” Jordan Love quietly finished top-six in several efficiency metrics despite the early-season picks, and Raybon thinks Golden’s vertical skillset meshes perfectly with Love’s deep-ball accuracy. He’s drafting Golden outside the WR30 range but believes a healthy season could yield top-20, even top-15 fantasy numbers.

Raybon continued to pound the table for Matthew Golden, arguing the rookie could open 2025 as Green Bay’s top option by default. Christian Watson is already ruled out for Week 1, while Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks have each missed chunks of camp with various injuries. Golden, meanwhile, has taken every first-team rep available and was already praised by coaches as a plug-and-play Z receiver. Raybon said the path to an immediate target lead "was great back in May and is even clearer now," making Golden a late-round smash in redraft and best-ball formats alike.

Hartitz pushed Matthew Golden as his favorite cheap receiver because injuries to Jayden Reed (foot), Christian Watson (knee/PUP) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf) have already forced the first-round pick into full-time snaps. Fantasy Life projections give Golden a team-high 98 targets, rare volume at a WR4 cost (ESPN WR38/99.1, Sleeper WR44/95.7, Yahoo WR45/117.8). The quarterback context is sneaky strong: Jordan Love is only one year removed from 4,159 yards and 32 TDs and still averaged 8.0 yards per attempt in 2024 (5th best) despite drops and his own knee/groin issues. Draft analyst Thor Nystrom compared Golden to Garrett Wilson while Dwain McFarland’s Rookie WR Super Model also stamped him as a hit. Hartitz stressed Golden checks the four boxes he wants—talent, QB quality, volume and age/health—and ranked him WR31, far above market.

Bernie Kirt cautioned drafters on Matthew Golden after news that Jordan Love will miss the rest of the preseason for thumb surgery on his non-throwing hand. Kirt expects the injury to keep Green Bay extremely run-heavy out of the gate—mirroring last year’s slow offensive start when Love was playing through an ankle issue. Even though Kirt still believes in Golden’s talent long-term, he thinks the current uncertainty will scare the room and push Golden’s ADP back a full round, making it smarter to let him slide and scoop him later. Until Love is confirmed healthy, Kirt recommends passing on Golden at his current sixth-round price and reallocating those chips to safer wideouts or waiting for the discount to deepen.

Mario Puig said Matthew Golden is the wideout to chase in Green Bay after a camp that has him running as the top boundary receiver while Jayden Reed remains glued to the slot by coach Matt LaFleur. Because LaFleur never lets Reed line up outside—Reed logged only 646 total snaps in 2024 and zero boundary reps in either the Family Night scrimmage or the preseason opener—Golden and Romeo Doubs will be the two-wide receivers. Golden owns the inside track to push Doubs off the field in three-wide looks as well because he can moonlight in the slot whereas Doubs cannot. With Reed currently questionable for Week 1 because of a foot injury, Puig believes Golden could establish himself early as the Packers’ top fantasy receiver, noting that if he holds both boundary status and a handful of weekly slot snaps he has a ceiling the franchise has not seen since Davante Adams left.

Andy Holloway called Matthew Golden the most overlooked late-round receiver. With Christian Watson out, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs banged up, and Dontayvion Wicks struggling with drops, Golden is "starting Week 1 as an outside wide receiver" for Green Bay. Holloway admitted Golden’s college production profile was mediocre but is willing to overlook that because the Packers spent first-round capital on him and he will catch passes from a "good quarterback" in a top-12 scoring offense. The combination of draft investment and immediate playing time gives Golden spike-week upside that normally isn’t available this late.

Jakob Sanderson said Matthew Golden is exactly the kind of wide-receiver dart he wants in FFPC best-ball drafts. Sanderson admitted Golden’s college production profile has warts that would normally make him a fade in dynasty formats, but pointed out that the rookie has already been penciled in for real snaps with Green Bay and has generated steady positive camp buzz. Because late-round fantasy success is often driven by simple playing time plus spike-week talent, Sanderson prefers taking shots on Golden over low-ceiling vets who need multiple injuries to matter.

Chris Raybon pivoted to Matthew Golden at WR44 after noting that Christian Watson (hamstring), Jayden Reed (walking boot), and Romeo Doubs (back) are all sidelined. With Green Bay’s depth chart "dropping like flies," Raybon believes Golden could enter Week 1 as the team’s de-facto number-one wideout. Even if the veterans return, Golden’s strong camp and preseason performance have him "earning it" on merit, giving him significant upside versus a mid-40s ADP.

Peter Overzet said drafters are sleeping on Matthew Golden after watching him run in two-wide-receiver sets during Green Bay’s Friends and Family Night scrimmage. Overzet argued that working with the starters this early shows the coaching staff already trusts Golden as an every-down perimeter option, giving him a path to full-time snaps immediately. Because of that usage he believes Golden’s current ADP around pick 69 is at least a full round too cheap and that the rookie belongs in the 5-6 turn range where other presumed starters with similar volume outlooks are going. Overzet recommended scooping Golden aggressively in best-ball rooms before the preseason drives the price up.

Hayden Winks urged drafters to "load up" on Matthew Golden while Christian Watson (PUP), Jayden Reed (boot) and Romeo Doubs (back) nurse injuries. Golden played every snap in the preseason opener and Family Night, often as the motion man in LaFleur’s heavy-personnel looks, and was the lone receiver on several RPO concepts—exactly the manufactured-touch role Hayden targets for fantasy. He noted Golden drew a DPI and won on a slant despite a modest box score, adding that coaches, front office and local media are all raving about the first-round pick’s speed. With Golden three rounds cheaper than other first-round wideouts and already locked into two-WR sets, Winks sees a clear path to immediate volume and considers his ninth-round ADP a bargain in season-long leagues.

Dwain McFarland promoted Matthew Golden at a 103 ADP, arguing that Green Bay’s receiver room has no established alpha and the organization’s Round-1 investment virtually guarantees opportunities. Golden posted an 81 in McFarland’s Rookie Super Model, and nearly half of comparable prospects logged a top-24 fantasy season by Year 3. While critics note Golden’s modest college target counts, McFarland counters that draft capital outweighs that concern and dismisses the long-standing “Packers will spread it around” narrative. If Golden captures an immediate full-time role, managers get a cheap shot at a volume-driven breakout; if he struggles, he is an easy early-season cut—an asymmetric wager McFarland loves.

Hayden Winks advised drafting Matthew Golden ahead of ADP (currently WR46 on Yahoo/ESPN/CBS) and even over teammate Jaden Reed. Winks ranks Golden WR38 and credits a 4.29 forty, 17.0 yards-per-catch career average, and first-round draft capital. Family Night scrimmage usage showed Golden running the most routes with Jordan Love, confirming an immediate starting role on the perimeter—something Green Bay’s size thresholds have kept Reed from doing. Josh compared Golden’s movement skills to Stefon Diggs, Will Fuller, Tank Dell, and pointed out LaFleur’s heavy use of motion and stacked sets that match Golden’s college deployment at Texas. Love and LaFleur have publicly praised the rookie, and Winks believes a Packers offense with top-five upside could push Golden into must-start territory by season’s end. Because he is still available in the 90s-100s overall on Yahoo, Winks told listeners to reach at least two rounds to secure him.

Best Ball Guy said Matthew Golden is his favorite seventh-round target because the market is treating him like a fringe WR4 (current ADP around WR42) even though the Packers spent a first-round pick to get him after publicly admitting they lacked a true No. 1 receiver. Golden’s 4.2 forty and first-round draft capital combine with an empty target tree and Jordan Love—who finished QB5 two seasons ago in Matt LaFleur’s offense—to create immediate alpha upside. With a good quarterback, play-caller and no entrenched target hog, Best Ball Guy expects Golden to lead Green Bay in targets and spike-weeks, calling him a must-have overweight position for Sprint drafts that try to beat 700k entries.

Pat Kerrane urged drafters to jump on Matthew Golden in the mid-6th round before the market fully adjusts. Kerrane emphasized that the Packers spent a first-round pick on Golden and immediately tasked him with full-time boundary duties: "You’re going to be our number-one outside receiver." Coaching reports say Golden has handled the entire route tree and stacked splash plays in camp. Kerrane has already flipped Golden ahead of Jaden Reed in his rankings, arguing that first-round draft capital, locked-in perimeter snaps and built-in red-zone usage give Golden true WR1 upside that is not priced in at his current ADP.

Jon Warner said he has flipped his exposure and is now prioritizing Matthew Golden over Jayden Reed at the 6⁄7-round turn in Best Ball Mania drafts. Warner pointed to Green Bay’s friends-and-family practice where Golden played every snap with the starters and stayed on the field in two-WR sets while Reed rotated out. He expects Matt LaFleur to treat Golden as a set-it-and-forget-it boundary X receiver, something the team lacked while rotating Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs last year. With Jordan Love projected to throw more in 2025 (Warner noted the pass rate should climb “especially if we don’t get those Malik Willis starts”), he believes Golden’s every-down route participation and red-zone upside make him a better ADP buy than Reed before the market moves a full round.

Mike Fanelli wants Matthew Golden in Round 9/10 after Green Bay ended a 23-year drought by spending a first-round pick on him. Golden has reportedly been the Packers’ top wideout all camp, and Fanelli noted the front office could move Romeo Doubs or Dontayvion Wicks at cut-downs to free even more snaps. A starting outside role plus draft capital equals upside well beyond his WR44 price tag.

Dan Graziano noted that first-round pick Matthew Golden has not dropped a single pass since camp opened and is already flashing pro-ready route nuance. With no established alpha in Green Bay’s receiver room, coaches are funneling first-team reps his way. Graziano thinks Golden could walk into a top-two target share for Jordan Love by September and called him a prime late-round or last-pick dart in redraft and best-ball leagues.

Best Ball Guy told viewers to smash Matthew Golden whenever the draft board lands on that pocket. He called Golden a “huge tear break” because every other wideout in the range carries baggage: Chris Godwin is rehabbing from two offseason surgeries, Khalil Shakir is sidelined by a high-ankle sprain and never flashed much ceiling, while Josh Downs’ volume could evaporate in an Anthony Richardson offense. With the alternatives either injured or stuck in low-pass environments, Golden is the only healthy, upside option and is therefore the priority target in Best Ball builds.

Best Ball Guy snapped up Matthew Golden in the seventh round, calling him “a huge tear break.” He noted that every receiver left in the queue carried red-flag health concerns—Chris Godwin is recovering from double offseason surgery, Khalil Shakir is currently dealing with a high-ankle sprain, and Josh Downs faces a low-volume passing environment with Anthony Richardson. Golden, by contrast, enters camp healthy and projects for an every-down role in Green Bay’s fast, three-wide offense. The tout emphasized that Golden’s combination of route volume and clean bill of health makes him the last wideout in his tier before a steep production cliff, giving drafters scarce mid-round upside at a position that dries up quickly.

Billy Ward said Sean Koerner and Chris Raybon are a few spots ahead of Underdog’s 76.4 ADP on Matthew Golden because Green Bay’s pass-catcher distribution was extremely flat last year—five players finished between 52-67 targets. Ward noted Golden’s 4.29 forty gives him week-winning spike-play potential and that a top-10 scoring Packers offense only needs one receiver to capture a bigger slice for him to beat price. In Best Ball, the upside weeks matter more than weekly floor, making Golden a draft-board riser in their model.

Davis Mattek said Matthew Golden is a screaming value in 2025 drafts because Green Bay’s passing volume is being slept on. Mattek reminded listeners that Matt LaFleur has not always been run-first, citing 2023 when the Packers were only 22nd in rushing attempts but 15th in pass attempts and 3rd in passing touchdowns despite Jordan Love playing hurt all season. Mattek’s current projection has a now-healthy Love throwing for 4,000 yards and 26 TDs. In that build, Golden is the lone Packer projected to clear 100 targets and Mike Clay’s model still ranks him just WR39 in PPR. Mattek doubts meaningful roles for Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, or Sabian Williams, arguing negative bias toward the offense is suppressing Golden’s ADP. He urged drafters—especially in Best Ball rooms—to click Golden aggressively as a cheap path to a potential top-30 wideout tied to an underrated passing attack.

Davis Mattek labeled Matthew Golden a ‘hyper-polished’ first-round pick who should be drafted around WR40 (9th round on Sleeper, 7th in best ball) thanks to a clear path to snaps and elite upside. Golden flashed late in college, dropping 8-162 on Georgia and 7-149-1 on Arizona State, then went 23rd overall in the 2025 draft. Mattek compared Golden to a faster Chris Olave and pointed to multiple vacated opportunities: Christian Watson is likely out for the season (ACL), Jayden Reed has only 33 career snaps in two-WR sets, and depth pieces like Savion Williams and Dontayvion Wicks project as rotational. PFF’s alignment chart shows Golden and Romeo Doubs leading the room. Mattek dismissed concerns about a run-heavy Packers attack, reminding drafters that Matt LaFleur ranked 15th in pass attempts and 3rd in passing TDs in 2023 despite an injured Jordan Love. With a healthy Love and minimal target competition, Golden profiles as a WR5 you draft for an immediate role and genuine top-24 breakout potential.

Connor Allen said he already bet Matthew Golden’s season–long receiving-yards UNDER when it opened at 750 and would still play the current 700 number. Allen’s skepticism centers on a muddled target tree in Green Bay. Beat-writer buzz has Jaden Reed kicking outside more often, which could turn two-WR sets into a Reed/Doubs alignment and leave Golden fighting for snaps in the slot. Allen expects the Packers to lean on 12-personnel with Tucker Kraft heavily involved, further capping Golden’s volume. Combine that with Golden’s unproven NFL profile and Allen doesn’t think the rookie can command the 90-plus targets he’d need to clear 700 yards.

Sam Monson labeled first-round pick Matthew Golden the "fascinating" X-factor in Green Bay’s receiver room. Golden’s blazing 40-time vaulted him up boards and gives him the raw athletic profile to become the Packers’ elusive true No. 1 target, which would instantly transform the passing attack. Monson cautioned, however, that Golden has only a "really, really small" collegiate sample of actually being that top option, making him a classic high-ceiling, high-variance late-round play that is better suited to best-ball formats than redraft lineups right away.

Showing 17 % exposure in his portfolio, Best Ball Guy said Matthew Golden is still "way too cheap" relative to his first-round pedigree. Golden consistently lasts into the double-digit rounds even though rookie wide receivers have delivered league-winning advance rates in three straight seasons. BBG is betting that once drafters see Golden run routes against pro corners in August, his ADP will jump at least a full round. Grabbing him now locks in an explosive downfield threat without paying the premium attached to established names, a profile BBG believes is tailor-made for half-PPR best-ball scoring.

Matthew Freedman argued that Matthew Golden is set up for a rookie-year breakout because he can play anywhere on the field, not just the slot. Freedman noted that Jaden Reed has been almost exclusively a slot receiver, which bumps him to the sideline whenever Matt LaFleur rolls out his frequent two-tight-end packages. Golden, however, can win on the perimeter and in the slot, keeping him on the field in both 11- and 12-personnel. The Packers confirmed that vision by spending a first-round pick on him—something they did not do for Reed or Romeo Doubs. Freedman added that Jordan Love quietly finished top-five in QBR and yards per attempt despite last year’s run-leaning script, and LaFleur ranks as a top-eight (arguably top-four) play-caller. If Green Bay is forced to throw a bit more, Freedman thinks every target earner in the offense explodes, but Golden is the only one with both locked-in snaps and a WR50-plus ADP. He called that combination “buying a ceiling at its floor” in season-long and best-ball drafts.

Chris Raybon labeled Matthew Golden the sneakiest upside swing in Green Bay after studying the Packers’ offseason moves and last year’s usage data. Jaden Reed managed only 4.5 targets per game while Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks struggled to separate, prompting Brian Gutekunst to spend premium picks on Golden and Savion Williams. Raybon argued that once Jordan Love injured his shoulder in Week 1, Matt LaFleur throttled back pass volume to hide an uninspiring perimeter group, but Love still finished top-five in yards per attempt and QBR. Golden’s downfield acceleration and contested-catch chops solve the very problem that forced the scheme into a shell. With Christian Watson perpetually hurt and Wicks locked into a 25–35% snap role, Raybon believes Golden can finish camp no worse than third in routes and has a clear path to the alpha chair if Watson’s hamstrings flare up again. Because drafters anchor to last year’s low pass rate, Golden is available in the WR5–WR6 range despite a rookie-year ceiling of 115 targets in an offense poised to re-open the throttle.

Raybon called Matthew Golden a rare late-round rookie who might pace his team in routes as soon as September. He noted that once everyone in Green Bay’s receiving corps was healthy last year, Dontayvion Wicks devolved into Malik Heath-level usage and the coaching staff openly toyed with turning Bo Melton into a gadget player. In that context Golden— a second-round pick with a clean prospect profile— projects to seize the perimeter snaps opposite Jayden Reed almost by default. More importantly, the Packers’ pass-catcher ADPs still bake in last season’s hyper-run-heavy finish, ignoring that Jordan Love was a top-five quarterback by EPA per drop-back before his injury. Raybon expects the volume bounce-back to collide with Golden’s every-down role, creating a weekly ceiling the market is missing. He is scooping Golden two rounds ahead of ADP when building Jordan Love stacks, betting that the rookie becomes the primary outside threat and posts multiple spike weeks down the stretch.

Ian Hartitz labeled rookie Matthew Golden a sharp stash as the Packers’ WR4/5 in drafts. Golden carries first-round draft capital and steps into an offense Hartitz already trusts because Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur have demonstrated they can support multiple fantasy-viable pass catchers. With the OTAs hinting at an open competition behind Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, Hartitz believes Golden could carve out a meaningful role by mid-season. Even if he starts slow, the combination of elite college production, Day-1 investment, and a favorable quarterback situation makes Golden’s current WR55-ish price tag feel like buying a call option on a future weekly starter. Hartitz is comfortable making him his fifth or sixth receiver, then stopping at the position to hammer running-back upside plays.

Sean Koerner said Matthew Golden is one of his favorite mid-round swings because the Packers simply cannot be any more run-heavy than they were in 2023. Green Bay ran at the league’s fourth-highest rate after Jordan Love sprained his knee in Week 1, but Koerner expects natural regression toward a league-average pass rate now that Love is healthy. Golden steps into a receiver room where nobody has separated: Romeo Doubs has never cleared 100 yards in a game, Jayden Reed is still capped in two-WR sets, and Malik Heath/Don’tayvion Wicks were dog-housed for blocking miscues. Koerner initially worried about target competition, then realized the crowd exists precisely because the Packers lack a true alpha. He now projects Golden to lead the team in targets as soon as October. Love finished top-five in both yards per attempt (8.0) and QBR despite the injury, so even a modest bump from last year’s 27.5 attempts per game would give Golden 6-plus looks weekly. At a WR40 ADP Koerner is hammering him in both best-ball and season-long drafts, calling him a Sam LaPorta-style rookie value who could be this year’s breakout everyone missed.

Hayden Winks said Matthew Golden is his favorite ‘cheap alpha’ bet this summer. Golden’s current Underdog ADP sits around 78th overall, yet Green Bay just spent its first-round pick on him after lacking a perimeter difference-maker in 2024. Winks noted that Jaden Reed has been pigeon-holed as a slot-only option and Christian Watson’s health remains shaky, leaving a clear path for Golden to play every down on the outside. After grinding Jordan Love’s All-22, Winks came away convinced the quarterback can “really spin it,” pointing to Love’s league-high 8.2% big-time-throw rate over the final eight weeks. If Golden is merely competent early, Winks expects a Brian Thomas-style surge down the stretch on a Packers offense Vegas projects for top-12 scoring. At a Round-7 price you only need 900 yards and 6-7 touchdowns to smash, numbers Winks believes are well within reach once Golden’s snap share hits 80%.

Jim Coventry advised passing on Matthew Golden despite an affordable WR47 ADP. He noted that Green Bay dialed Jordan Love back from 34 to 24 pass attempts per game once the staff realized Love is more caretaker than playmaker and shifted the offense through Josh Jacobs. Those 24 attempts already have to feed Jaden Reed, Romeo Doubs/Savion Williams, tight end Tucker Kraft, and Jacobs himself, leaving scant weekly targets for a rookie. Coventry added that Golden’s primary skill is vertical speed, yet deep balls are the weakest element of Love’s game. In that low-volume, short-area attack, Golden’s fantasy ceiling is severely capped.

Pete Overzet said he has renewed optimism for rookie wideout Matthew Golden after digging into Jordan Love’s 2023 injury splits. When Love’s shoulder flared up last year, Green Bay shifted into a run-heavy ‘Josh Jacobs mode,’ but Overzet expects a healthier Love and the addition of Golden to nudge the Packers back toward their early-season pass rate. He believes an extra 3-4 pass attempts per game meaningfully lifts both Golden and Jayden Reed, giving Golden a viable route to mid-season spike weeks at a double-digit-round ADP. Overzet framed Golden as the classic late rookie who benefits from simple volume regression rather than needing an injury domino, making him an easy click in Best Ball Mania stacks with Love or as a standalone WR6/7.

Best Ball Guy called Matthew Golden a clear seventh-round smash, noting that the former Cougar blazed a 4.24 forty and was taken in the first round by Green Bay. He expects Jordan Love to build on last year’s late-season surge, giving the Packers one of the most affordable passing attacks with legitimate spike-week upside. Because Golden checks both the athleticism box and the draft-capital box while going after pick 80, Eric is intentionally overweight and anticipates a steady climb in Golden’s ADP as training camp buzz builds.

Best Ball Guy pegged rookie Matthew Golden as a prime late-summer rocket ship. He noted that rookie wideouts carry the most ADP volatility and said Golden has “room to rise a full round and a half” if camp reports paint him as the Packers’ unquestioned WR1 who “is out on every play.” Golden’s age-adjusted production at Houston combined with a vacant target tree behind Romeo Doubs gives him a clear path to immediate alpha volume. Drafters scooping him in the mid-double-digit rounds today could be sitting on a seventh- or eighth-round commodity by Labor Day.

PropStarz recommended betting Matthew Golden under 725 receiving yards for the season. He expects a run-first Packers offense and a crowded target tree featuring Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Christian Watson (projected mid-season return), and Romeo Doubs. Golden’s college tape showed difficulty separating against man coverage, suggesting a slow transition to every-down NFL snaps. With limited volume and possible fourth-option status, Selznick sees little path to 725 yards.

Billy Ward noted that Sean Koerner and Chris Raybon have the rookie ranked a few spots ahead of his 76.4 ADP because he might be the first Packers pass catcher to separate from last year’s five-man committee (each logged 52-67 targets). Golden’s 4.29 forty gives him weekly spike-play upside that is tailor-made for Best Ball, and any target consolidation in a Jordan Love top-10 scoring offense would push him well past current cost.

Erik Beimfohr said Matthew Golden is still a buy in the late-rounds because his path to playing time is almost guaranteed. Green Bay plans to line up Romeo Doubs as the X and keep Jayden Reed in the slot, which leaves the Z spot—Christian Watson’s old vertical role—squarely in Golden’s lap. The Packers have been public that they “need him to contribute right away,” so Beimfohr views Golden’s route share as safer than most rookie flyers. Even if the second-rounder’s prospect profile is incomplete, 80-plus percent routes from Jordan Love in an offense that finished top-12 in pass EPA last season creates a steady WR3 floor with spike-week upside. At an ADP outside the top-150, Golden offers the rare combination of secure volume and big-play speed, making him an easy add to Love stacks or any best-ball build hungry for late receiver points.

Conner Allen advised passing on Matthew Golden in the OROY market despite the enticing 28-1 sticker price. Allen does not expect the rookie to see meaningful volume in a Green Bay offense that already peppers Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed while funneling red-zone looks to the two tight ends. With Jordan Love unlikely to push past 570 attempts in Matt LaFleur’s balanced scheme, Allen projects Golden for sub-15 % target share and fewer than 60 catches—far short of the statistical juice recent award-winning receivers have needed. He summarized the bet as “paying for upside that probably isn’t there.”

Pat Kerrane framed Matthew Golden as a classic ceiling bet whose current mid-70s ADP is not pricing in the realistic outcome that he simply becomes Green Bay’s best wide receiver by October. Golden cost the Packers a first-round pick, and Kerrane reminded listeners that draft capital almost always trumps incumbent mediocrity—Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, and a chronically dinged-up Christian Watson profile as replaceable role players, not obstacles. Golden brings 4.39 speed, a 19-year-old breakout age, and a 2.40 career yards per route run despite scatter-shot quarterback play at Texas. With Jordan Love showing top-10 efficiency flashes and Matt LaFleur ranking sixth in pass-rate over expectation during neutral game scripts last season, Kerrane believes there is a clear path to 110–120 targets and multiple spike weeks. He is comfortable drafting Golden ahead of Jaden Reed and sees the rookie as a cheaper way to access elite Packers correlation when he starts WR-heavy in Best Ball rooms.

Jakob Sanderson advised passing on Matthew Golden anywhere inside the top-24 rookie picks, calling him a likely real-life role player rather than a fantasy difference-maker. Sanderson highlighted Golden’s 1.85 career yards per route run and 17 % targets-per-route rate—both well below the 25 % threshold hit by past small-framed perimeter alphas like Tyler Lockett or Jordan Addison. His statistical comp list (Henry Ruggs, John Ross, Kadarius Toney, Nelson Agholor, Rashod Bateman) is littered with boom-bust vertical specialists who never earned elite target shares. Sanderson projects Golden for a capped 15–17 % slice of Green Bay’s passing pie, pointing out that even in an offense that finished 10th in pass attempts, such volume produces only WR3/FLEX weeks. Because first-round receivers who fail to crest a 20 % rookie target share lose an average of 35 startup spots by Year 2, Sanderson would rather pivot to Luther Burden or future 2026 picks than gamble on Golden’s outlier path to sustained fantasy value.

Davis Mattek urged managers not to overthink Matthew Golden’s middling college target shares, arguing that first-round draft capital, 4.38 speed at 203 lbs, and an early-declare profile make him a smash pick in the mid-second of dynasty rookie drafts. Mattek loves that Golden immediately chose jersey number 22—"one for every team that passed on him"—seeing that chip-on-shoulder mentality as a bullish marker historically shared by alpha receivers. He emphasized that Jordan Love just supported three WR2-plus fantasy weeks for Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed despite neither topping a 20 % target share, leaving plenty of room for Golden to carve out volume. Mattek also noted Golden’s 2-TD breakout in the College Football Playoff and the fact Texas tried to reverse its transfer-portal decision once Isaiah Bond faltered, suggesting Golden’s raw stat line hides an ascending talent. With no established No. 1 in Green Bay and the Packers ranking 6th in neutral-situation pass rate last season, Mattek ranks Golden ahead of veterans like Tyler Lockett and Jerry Jeudy as a high-variance WR3 who could spike into WR1 territory by 2026.

Jason Moore advised passing on Matthew Golden in 2025 redraft and shallow best-ball builds. Moore hammered Golden’s lack of college production—just 845 receiving yards over three seasons and what he called “the worst production profile ever for a first-round wideout.” Moore noted Green Bay already goes six-deep with viable pass catchers (Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, Luke Musgrave and third-rounder Savion Williams) and expects target distribution to remain wide, pointing to Matt LaFleur’s 63 % 11-personnel rate and league-high 10 different receivers with 15-plus targets last year. With Doubs and Watson still under contract through 2025 and Reed entrenched as Love’s slot favorite, Moore believes Golden will need an injury or a 2026 roster purge to matter, making him a dynasty stash only and a clear avoid in seasonal formats outside of ultra-deep benches.