Matthew Golden Set For Bigger Role In 2026

By Jared Smola | Updated on Wed, Apr 15 2026 6:26 PM UTC

ESPN's Rob Demovsky confirms that Packers WR Matthew Golden is in line to play a bigger role in 2026, following a quiet rookie season. Green Bay let WR Romeo Doubs depart in free agency and then traded WR Dontayvion Wicks to Philadelphia. That leaves Golden as the favorite for a starting outside spot opposite WR Christian Watson, with WR Jayden Reed in the slot. "Despite a rookie season in which the Packers never seemed to make Golden a focal point of the offense, they came away feeling the 2025 first-round pick was ready for more," Demovsky writes.

What They're Saying

GM Brian Gutekunst after the season: "With all the opportunities we gave him, I thought he did an excellent job. I would have loved to have seen him get more opportunities through the year. It didn't work out that way. But when he did, he performed, and he performed at a high level. I'm really excited to see where he goes in Year 2. I think his ceiling is very, very high. We're very, very excited about what he's going to do for our football team moving forward."

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

Golden finished his rookie season with 29 catches, 361 yards, and 0 TDs. He reached a 60% route rate in just seven of his 14 games. And he wasn't very good on a per-route basis. Among 90 WRs with 40+ targets last year, Golden ranked:

67th in targets per route
62nd in yards per route

That's more concerning after a relatively unproductive college career. Golden didn't lead any of his three teams in receptions and drew just 16.1% of Texas targets in his final campaign.

On the plus side, Golden was an early declare, got the first-round draft capital, and closed his rookie season with an 84-yard, one-TD outing in the playoff loss to the Bears.

The overall profile here says fantasy drafters should remain hesitant. But if Golden's ADP remains at its current WR5 level, he's a fine shot to take.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.