Matthew Golden
Green Bay PackersMatthew Golden has 43 catches, 619 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns in 8 games for the Green Bay Packers this season through Week 8, 16.2 PPR points a game (updated November 4, 2026).
Model Score by season
A career-high 78.2 this season, up from 71.0.
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
A blazing-fast rookie buried in a crowded receiver room.
The case for
- 4.29 combine forty is genuinely elite straight-line speed, the trait that justified the 1st-round selection. Wk 19 2025's 18.4 PPR shows the explosive ceiling when the offense schemes him a target.
- Texas senior 987-yard line and the 1st-round pedigree (23rd overall) confirm the NFL projection grade. Age 23 leaves multiple development years.
The worry
- Six of his last eight 2025 weeks scored under 4 PPR (1.8, 2.2, 0.4, 0, 3.4, 2.9). That is depth-chart-pure rookie production, not 1st-round value.
- Behind Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Christian Watson, the path to a defined WR2 role is narrow. Green Bay's offensive identity historically distributes targets evenly across the room.
What to watch: Whether his 2026 target share clears 6 per game across the first six weeks, the threshold every successful 1st-round WR has historically needed to hit in Year 2.
Full take and bio
The 2025 #69 (tier 8) rookie finish is well below where a 1st-round pick is supposed to land, and the underlying game log (six of eight weeks under 4 PPR) confirms the role was thin all year. Wk 19's 18.4 PPR is the lone fantasy-relevant moment of his season. The 2026 jump depends entirely on whether Green Bay's crowded WR room (Reed, Doubs, Watson, Golden) opens up via injury or contract turnover.
Golden came out of Texas (after transferring from Houston) as Green Bay's 1st-round pick (23rd overall) in 2025 after a 987-yard senior season. He ran a 4.29 forty at the combine, the fastest WR time of his class, which moved his stock up to the 1st round despite the modest college production line. Green Bay drafted him as the long-term complement to Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs, with Christian Watson's chronic durability issues adding urgency to the WR investment.
Comps
The players whose size, testing and production looked most like his at the same point in their careers. The percent is how close.
Odell Beckham Jr. ’1675%Lee Evans ’0673%Laveranues Coles ’0271%Plays like: Drew Hill, Irving Fryar, Larry Fitzgerald. Built like: Curtis Samuel, Mike Wallace, Zavion Thomas. Coming out: Henry Ruggs III, Percy Harvin, Odell Beckham Jr..
Of his 20 closest coming out: 1 star, 5 starters, 9 backups, 5 didn't stick.
Matthew Golden Props This Weekvs CAR
| Market | Line | Over | Under |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receptions | 4.5 | -110 Bovada | -120 Bovada |
| Receiving yards | 56.5 | -115 Bovada | -115 Bovada |
Best price across 9 books as of Mon Nov 2. Lines move; check the book before you bet. This week's board · Line Room
Play Matthew's numbers on Underdog · partner link
Matthew Golden Injury StatusNot listed
Matthew Golden is not on the injury report as of Nov 4. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
This season · 8 games
16.2 fantasy points a game, 130 PPR on the season. Every game on the Game Log, every season on Career. Advanced numbers are EPA and Next Gen Stats.
Contract2026 cap
Every year of the deal, the dead money and what a cut or trade saves on the Contract tab.
Fantasy outlookWeek 9
Our rest-of-season board has Matthew Golden at WR18 (the public consensus says WR14); the model has 111 PPR points left for him this season; this week he hosts CAR.
Price a trade for him on the fantasy trade calculator, or see the whole board on the Fantasy hub.
Draft & College
Round 1, pick 23 to the Green Bay Packers in 2025, out of Texas (SEC). He went about where consensus had him.
In college, 2022-2024, 36 games: 133 rec, 1,971 yds, 22 TD, 14.8 yds/rec. Coming out: 4.29s 40 yd.
Recruited
Class of 2022 · Receiver · High school: Klein Cain, Houston, TX
His full list of offers is not on our record yet; offers for the 2022 class are still being added.