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    Matthew Golden scores first regular season TD

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    GB Wide Receiver #0
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    Matthew Golden caught 5-of-12 targets for 100 yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ Week 3 loss to the Falcons.

    It took Golden deep into the fourth quarter of Week 3 of his sophomore campaign to notch his first regular season touchdown, doing so by making a nice adjustment on a ball thrown behind him on a slant in the red zone. Golden leads the Packers with 30 targets through three games and should continue to bring weekly WR3 production, with upside for WR2 output, while operating as the X-type receiver in a Matt LaFleur offense. Increasing those chances is an offensive line that ranks as one of the worst units in the league that is paired with the absence of Josh Jacobs to bring zero run game support to Jordan Love and the Packers, making increased weekly pass volume something we’re likely to see carry forward in the immediate future. Golden is an upside WR2 ahead of a Week 4 matchup against the pass-funnel Buccaneers.
Warm takes: 2026 is the year of the backup QB
Paul Pabst and Andrew Perloff deliver their warm sports takes on Not So Fast, including highlighting the NFL's backup quarterback boom after standout performances from Case Keenum, Marcus Mariota and more.

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  • GB Wide Receiver #0
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    Golden ran a route on 32 of the team’s 34 dropbacks and was the target on a few deep passes that led to pass interference penalties. This was not an efficient passing day for the Packers’ offense, but it was nice to see Golden be such a huge part of it. With Jayden Reed (neck) getting hurt in this game and Tucker Kraft still not seemingly playing at 100 percent, Golden is the clear second target in this offense. He could be in for a big game against the Falcons in Week 3.
  • GB Wide Receiver #0
    As expected, Golden ran the bulk of the routes from an outside alignment and was much more involved compared to his rookie season. Christian Watson stole the show with 147 yards and two scores, but Golden comfortably led the team in targets. Four of his targets came on the Packers’ final drive while they were down by 17 points, but even his numbers before that were impressive. As the training camp reports indicated, Golden made massive strides during the offseason. Golden might not be the team’s target-leader every week, but he’s in the WR3 mix for the Packers’ Week 2 date with the Jets.
  • GB Wide Receiver #9
    Prior reports indicated that the Packers’ coaching staff realized that their frequent wide receiver rotation was rubbing their stars the wrong way, prompting a positional personnel churn this offseason. LaFleur’s comments confirm the Packers’ starting wide receiver trio is going to play a lot, and fantasy managers should take note. Watson played extremely well in his recent from an ACL tear last year. If that play carries over, he is a shoo-in WR2 with substantial upside. Golden could be in for a Year 2 leap, and Reed could reliably return FLEX value, or better, if his snap share is high enough.
  • GB Wide Receiver #11
    Reed played 7-of-9 snaps on the first drive before calling it a night. He was in the slot for all seven snaps. Reed snagged a 19-yard pass via a post route from the slot on 3rd-and-5. He was targeted again on a corner route just outside the end zone on 3rd-and-4 from the Steelers’ 19-yar4d line, but the pass was broken up. Packers WR Matthew Golden led the first-team offense with nine snaps.
  • GB Quarterback #10
    Although a potential, albeit brief, matchup against Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is intriguing, the Packers’ wide receiver rotation is the real reason to tune in. Packers WR Christian Watson should be the team’s top target earner this season, and Love said WR Matthew Golden is set to assume X-receiver duties. Will slot WR Jayden Reed get to take snaps in two-receiver sets? That is to be determined.
  • GB Wide Receiver #0
    Golden was held out of practice for a couple days with a toe issue. He was spotted running with the Green Bay first team offense on Tuesday. The Packers seem intent to use Golden in an every-down role rather than the rotational role he had during his disappointing 2025 rookie campaign. The speedy Golden, who has drawn praise from Jordan Love this offseason, should profile as a high-variance weekly fantasy option in 12-team formats.
  • GB Wide Receiver #0
    No word yet on the severity, but we should get clarity on this at some point. Golden fared well at the Packers’ recent Family Night event, and according to QB Jordan Love, is set to assume the X-receiver role vacated by former Packers WR Romeo Doubs. Golden turned in a disappointing rookie season, but a second-year breakout is certainly possible, good health pending.
  • GB Wide Receiver #11
    We know this is getting into the weeds, but Reed’s weekly range of outcomes will be somewhat dependent on his access to heavy personnel packages. Through three NFL seasons, Reed has taken just 31 snaps in 12 personnel, so even a mild increase would boost his target-earning opportunities. Packers QB Jordan Love confirmed that second-year WR Matthew Golden is replacing WR Romeo Doubs as the X-receiver when speaking with the media today, so Golden and Watson (Z-receiver) will likely take the majority of 12 personnel reps this season. If Reed can at least send Golden to the sideline for a decent share of those opportunities, his fantasy managers would stand to benefit.
  • GB Wide Receiver #0
    Reed did end up playing with the first-team offense, at one point snagging back-to-back completions from QB Jordan Love. Golden disappointed as a rookie last year, posting a 29.361/0 receiving line. Reed went 19/207/1, but played in only seven games due to injury. Golden, a first-round pick from 2025, is getting his chance to earn a role in two-wide receiver sets opposite WR1 Christian Watson. Returning reliable FLEX value is difficult if one is limited to the WR3/slot role. If Reed is unable to beat out Golden in training camp, we could be looking at another volatile season from Reed. Golden’s outlook is tough to forecast, but getting on the field in heavy personnel packages would be positive.
  • GB Wide Receiver #0
    The Packers let Romeo Doubs walk in free agency and just traded away Dontayvion Wicks, so this isn’t exactly groundbreaking news. Still, fantasy managers are keeping close tabs on the Golden drumbeat after his dreadful rookie season, and this qualifies. Golden was limited to 361 yards in 2025 and struggled to find a consistent role in Green Bay’s crowded receiver room. Now there are no excuses for the former No. 23 overall pick. Golden will likely be stuck in a downfield role in his second season, but he has the speed to make the most of those opportunities. Fantasy managers should treat him as a boom/bust WR4 for now, though that could change in either direction very quickly.

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  • CHI Quarterback #11
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    Bears coach Ben Johnson said “we’ll see how it plays out all week” when asked about who would start at quarterback in Week 4.

    It’s worth noting that Brad Biggs quotes Johnson as saying “We’ll have a discussion as a coaching staff and we’ll see where we need to go from here ... But I said it last week, and I’ll say it again, there was a reason why Tyson [Bagent] ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback” in the post-game scrum. It seems wild that a backup quarterback could play as well as Case Keenum did on Monday Night and not start in Week 4 on account of another backup quarterback, but it does feel like the winds are leaning there as things stand on Tuesday.
  • TEN Quarterback #1
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    Titans coach Robert Saleh said “no” when asked if he’d consider sitting QB Cam Ward.

    Ward’s gotten off to a slow start in 2026, completing 62.5 percent of his passes for a meager 504 yards and two touchdowns in three games. He has improved his sack rate quite a bit, cutting it from 9.2 percent in 2025 to 5.38 percent so far this year. The Titans backup is Mitch Trubisky. It is probably too soon to give up on Ward, but it doesn’t bode well for his future that Saleh is already being asked the question. Ward will be one of the bottom five quarterbacks in the Week 4 fantasy rankings against the Ravens.
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    ESPN’s Adam Schefter said it “sounds like” Jayden Daniels (elbow) is going to need surgery after the season and he’s put it off so he can play with his team now.

    Schefter added that he doesn’t think Daniels will play this week but that he may play “sooner rather than later.” Dan Quinn said Daniels will practice in “some capacity this week,” but they may just be trying to understand where Daniels is at physically in these practices. This update does not augur particularly well for Daniels’ chances of staying active if the Commanders go into a tailspin or if he reaggravates the injury; it seems like he’s simply trying to play through the injury to help his team if he can.
  • HOU Quarterback #7
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    Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said he is open to leaning more into the passing game.

    “The thing for me about offensive football is you have to make sure you move the ball and try to score as many points as possible,” Ryans is quoted as saying by the Houston Chronicle. “How that looks to me, it really doesn’t matter. You can think or want to be a certain thing. But if you’re shown that that’s not the case and it’s not getting done, then you have to adjust. That’s where we are.” The Texans already abandoned the run against the Bengals in Week 2, throwing the ball 55 times. Perhaps Nico Collins’ return this week will raise all ships, but if it was as simple as the Texans needing to throw more, they probably would have scored more than six points against the Bengals. C.J. Stroud has a streamable matchup against the Cowboys this week if it all comes together.
  • FA Wide Receiver #13
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    Giants released Odell Beckham, Jr.

    Beckham’s reuniting with his former team lasted all of three games, during which Beckham was targeted once on 11 pass routes. An afterthought in the New York offense, OBJ will look to land in an offense that might use his diminished skills. NFL insider Jordan Schultz said both the Giants and Beckham “decided a mutual parting was best for everyone.” It’s hard to imagine who would want Beckham at this point in his fading NFL career. He has nine catches since the start of the 2024 regular season.
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    NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports Panthers G Damien Lewis (elbow) will be out “a few weeks.”

    It’s yet another significant loss for the Panthers, who saw Jaycee Horn and Jalen Coker go down with injury in Week 3 against the Browns. Carolina will be without their starting guard for a little while, including this week against the Lions. Through three weeks the Panthers rank 25th in ESPN’s pass blocking win rate and 11th in run block win rate.
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    SNY’s Connor Hughes believes the Giants could start JJ McCarthy in “the near future.”

    New York acquired McCarthy from the Vikings on Monday in exchange for a 2027 fifth round draft pick. Hughes spoke with NFL sources who said “the Giants do not give up a fifth-round pick unless they plan to play McCarthy in the near future.” Head coach John Harbaugh and the team’s coaching staff, per Hughes, see McCarthy as a starting-caliber quarterback despite his immense struggles in Minnesota last season. “The Giants welcomed the chance to add a player they view as a competitor, gritty, mobile, and who has all the tools to be a plus passer in the NFL,” Hughes said. With Jameis Winston playing worse than any QB in recent memory, McCarthy could be just a couple weeks away from taking over as New York’s starter. He would be a mild upgrade for Malik Nabers and the rest of the Giants pass catchers.
  • PIT Running Back #30
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    The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo believes Jaylen Warren will continue as a workhorse back in Week 4.

    Warren operated as an every-down back in Week 3 against the Bengals, running for 127 yards on 17 carries and catching three passes for 49 yards in a victory. DeFabo suggested Warren had established himself as the team’s clear lead back option against the Bengals with Rico Dowdle (toe) sidelined. “I’ve always had respect for him, playing against him, and then being his teammate now for a little more than a season,” Aaron Rodgers said of Warren. “He is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever played with, and I just can’t say enough about his energy and the way he runs the football and the way he cares about his teammates.” Warren’s pass game involvement spiked in Week 3, as he ran a route on 70 percent of Pittsburgh’s drop backs. Dowdle, meanwhile, did not practice Monday ahead of the Steelers’ Thursday game against the Browns. Warren should remain in all lineups this week.
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    Colston Loveland

    CHI Tight End #84
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    Colston Loveland caught all four targets for 31 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Loveland matched his to-date season total of one reception on the second play from scrimmage and narrowly missed his first touchdown of the young season after replay assist ruled him down inside the one at the start of the second quarter. The offense would turn the ball over on downs four plays later after failing to punch it in, allowing the Eagles to remain in the game for longer than they otherwise should have been. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction for the talented youngster, although the absence of Caleb Williams could further dent his fantasy upside in the immediate future. Loveland continues to be a TE1 in fantasy circles despite the slow start, which holds for when the Bears play host to the Jets in Week 4.
  • CHI Wide Receiver #15
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    Rome Odunze caught 3-of-6 targets for 44 yards in the Bears’ Week 3 win over the Eagles.

    Odunze continues to function as the deep threat in Ben Johnson’s offense, which spells trouble for his fantasy value in the immediate future considering the absence of Caleb Williams. Case Keenum got the start under center against the Eagles, and while he kept the offense on track through veteran savvy, his general lack of arm strength limited the offense to hefty rates of attacking the short-to-intermediate areas of the field. It is unclear whether Keenum or Tyson Bagent will draw the start in Week 4, but the decision could dictate whether Odunze can be inserted into fantasy rosters against the Jets.