Matthew Golden

Matthew Golden enters the 2026 fantasy football season with a much clearer path to playing time than he had as a rookie, and that alone makes him one of the more interesting mid-round wide receiver bets. Green Bay let Romeo Doubs leave in free agency and traded Dontayvion Wicks to Philadelphia, which leaves Golden in line for a bigger role on the outside opposite Christian Watson, with Jayden Reed operating in the slot.

The key reason to buy some optimism is opportunity, not last year’s box score. Golden’s rookie season was quiet at 29 catches, 361 yards, and no touchdowns, and he never became a consistent focal point of the offense, but Packers brass sounded encouraged by his progress and said they were excited about his Year 2 trajectory. FantasyPros notes that his limited production was driven more by inconsistent playing time than inefficiency, and that his route participation needs to climb for the breakout to happen.

There is still real risk here, because Golden’s college profile was not overwhelmingly dominant and his rookie per-route production was not strong enough to erase those concerns. That said, he has first-round draft capital, elite speed, and a quarterback in Jordan Love who can support multiple fantasy-relevant receivers if the role is there.

For fantasy drafting, Golden looks best as a WR4 with upside rather than a locked-in starter, which fits the current industry view that he is a reasonable target if the price stays modest. If he earns a full-time role and turns those vacated targets into steady weekly usage, he can become a viable flex play in 2026; if not, he is more of a frustrating depth option than a dependable fantasy starter.

Updated 06/08/2026