Every year, the NFL Draft injects a ton of new talent into the league. Naturally, this shakes up fantasy football values. With the Green Bay Packers adding Matthew Golden to their roster with the No. 23 overall pick, what does this mean for the fantasy values of Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Jordan Love?
Fantasy Impact of Packers Drafting Matthew Golden
Allow me to preface this by saying I am not a fan of Golden. I will have a future article dedicated to explaining why, but suffice it to say, I won’t be drafting him in any fantasy leagues.
With that said, Golden being a first-round pick does matter. The Packers hadn’t drafted a wide receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002. On the surface, that’s a huge vote of confidence for Golden, and I’m sure the Packers believe in him.
This is a crowded wide receiver room, though. Christian Watson may not be healthy to start the season, but Reed and Doubs will be. Plus, they have two effective tight ends in Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. It would be a major surprise if Golden walked in and dominated right away.
Jayden Reed
Golden’s skill set complements Reed’s well. They do different things on the field, making Golden less of a threat to Reed than anyone else. The problem for Reed is that he’s just not on the field enough.
Reed only played 67.3% of the snaps last season and ran a route on 72.3% of pass plays. That was 73rd in the league.
Golden does add another mouth to feed in this offense, but whether Reed becomes a weekly WR2 will depend on his usage, not how effective Golden is.
Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson
For Doubs, Watson, and the rest of the Packers’ wide receivers, Golden could be a real problem. The Packers clearly believe in Golden, or they would not have used a first-round pick on him. They want him to be the guy.
If I am wrong about Golden’s talent and he is very good, he could render every non-Reed Packers wide receiver useless for fantasy purposes.
Doubs has been the Packers’ primary outside receiver for the past two years. That could now be Golden. Doubs only averaged 10.2 fantasy points per game last year (and 10.3 the year before). That seems to be his ceiling, especially with Golden added to the squad.
As for Watson, I’ve just about given up on him. He was a volatile prospect and has shown flashes, but struggles to stay on the field and with consistency. He only averaged 7.0 ppg last season, earning a paltry 13% target share. There’s a very real chance he ends up dropped even in dynasty leagues by the end of the season.
Dontayvion Wicks
Fantasy Twitter has a love affair with Dontayvion Wicks. His advanced metrics point to a potential start, but after two years, we haven’t seen it.
Wicks is a former fifth-round pick who averaged 8.0 and 6.5 ppg in his first two seasons. He played two more games as a sophomore than he did as a rookie, yet caught the same number of passes for 166 fewer yards. It’s hard to see how the addition of a first-round wide receiver doesn’t make the likelihood Wicks breaks out even slimmer. He is not on the fantasy radar.
Jordan Love
Adding offensive weapons is always good for the quarterback. After averaging 19.4 ppg in his first year as a starter, Love regressed a bit last season, averaging just 16.3 ppg.
Even so, he still has the tools to be a QB1 in fantasy. It’s hard to imagine Golden hurting him, even if I’m right about Golden’s abilities. If Golden struggles, he simply won’t be on the field as much. If Golden plays well, Love could finally have a true WR1 to lean on.
At worst, fantasy managers should value Love exactly as they did before the Packers took Golden. At best, Golden will serve to increase Love’s upside, with a mid-QB1 ceiling firmly on the table.
